12/02/2024
CNN
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One of the most anticipated movie trailers of the year arrived during Super Bowl LVIII.
Much has already been said of âDeadpool & Wolverine,â which will see Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool joined by Hugh Jackman, back as Wolverine after last appearing as the razor-clawed hero in 2017âs acclaimed âLogan.â But little has been seen until Sunday.
In this first-look trailer, released online following the Super Bowl spot, Deadpool finds himself joined by âSuccessionâ star Matthew Macfadyen, playing an agent from the Time Variance Authority named Paradox, according to the trailerâs official captions.
âThis is your chance to be a hero among heroes,â he tells Deadpool.
In a self-aware nod, Deadpool sums it up cheekily, âI smell what youâre stepping in, sensei. Your little cinematic universe is about to change forever.â
Indeed, it will.
At the end of the trailer, an ailing Deadpool lies on the ground and asks for help. As Jackmanâs Wolverine claws comes out, Deadpool comically rethinks that plea for help.
Reynold appeared as Deadpool, the âmerc with the mouthâ Marvel comic book mutant, in 2016âs âDeadpool,â followed by the first sequel two years later.
After those two beloved entries, this threequel film, due out in late July, has a lot riding on it.
For one, it will be Disneyâs first R-rated MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movie, as well as the Deadpool characterâs official entrĂ©e into said universe â up until now, he was an offshoot of the X-Men universe that previously lived under the umbrella 20th Century Fox before that studio was absorbed by Disney.
âDeadpool & Wolverineâ will also be Marvelâs only feature film offering during the 2024 calendar year, and after Disney chief Bob Igerâs comments last fall about prioritizing the need to âturn (things) aroundâ at the storied comic book studio, itâs safe to say Deadpool has his work cut out for him as the de facto savior of the MCU.
Ever since production on âDeadpool & Wolverineâ began â and then got delayed by twin Hollywood strikes last year â fans have been clamoring to know more about the action-comedy hybrid, which will see a Deadpool-Wolverine rivalry/team-up that is likely to mirror the faux-âfrenemyâ relationship Jackman and Reynolds have maintained throughout the years, primarily on social media.
Interestingly, though, the pair previously costarred together â as the same characters, to boot â way back in 2009, in the misbegotten âX-Men Origins: Wolverine,â which first introduced Reynolds as Deadpool but made the mistake of sewing his mouth shut. If anything, âDeadpool & Wolverineâ is a chance to redeem themselves after that film.
The cast for the new movie, which wrapped production last month, will include many much-loved franchise regulars â including Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams and Morena Baccarin â but will also welcome some new additions that have fed into some wild fan theories.
The confirmed appearance of Jennifer Garner reprising the role of âElektraâ last seen way back in 2005, along with the rumored inclusion of Patrick Stewart â who famously played Professor X in the 20th Century Fox âX-Menâ films and already enjoyed an MCU cameo in 2022âs âDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessâ â has many believing that âDeadpool & Wolverineâ will contain a multitude of previous fan-favorite Marvel characters, along with some exciting new ones.
One of the buzziest of those theories â so far totally unsubstantiated â connects to Super Bowl guest of honor Taylor Swift.
The superstar singer is a noted longtime friend of Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively, and has been seen alongside them both while attending boyfriend Travis Kelceâs football games this season while his team the Kansas City Chiefs were making their way to Sundayâs big game. Whatâs more, however, is that Swift has also been seen with Jackman as well as âDeadpool and Wolverineâ director Shawn Levy, which has caused many to speculate that Swift will also feature in a cameo in the movie.
Needless to say, only time will tell as to who else ends up in the movie, but one thingâs for sure â Deadpool will have a snarky and likely inappropriate thing to say about it. âDeadpool & Wolverineâ is in theaters on July 26.