What Deadpool and Wolverine tells us about the future of the MCU (spoilers)

Marvel Jesus, Lady Deadpool, Dogpool and more – there's no denying that the box office-shattering blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine throws a lot at us, akin to the scattergun patter of Ryan Reynolds' title character.

Deadpool & Wolverine is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie to feature both Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. It's a pivotal chapter in Marvel Phase Five but where does it leave us concerning the MCU's future?

Scroll down to find out more.

DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE SPOILERS AHEAD

Hugh Jackman's Wolverine introduces the concept of anchor beings

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool/Wade Wilson is on a desperate quest to save his universe, designated Earth-10005 (the X-Men movie universe that originated under the now defunct studio 20th Century Fox), from being destroyed by Mr. Paradox (Matthew McFadyen). He's a rogue Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent who wants to destroy comic book universes in an instant as opposed to letting them slowly fade away.

Deadpool's universe is fading because the universe anchor Logan/Wolverine died at the end of the Fox film Logan (2017). Deadpool steals a time travel device (known as a TempPad) from the TVA and browses the multiverse for a good replacement Wolverine. He eventually finds a dejected, downtrodden Wolverine variant at a bar, one who considers himself responsible for the slaughter of all the X-Men in his timeline.

This acts as a piece of sly, self-aware (and very on-brand) meta-commentary: Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman was the anchor of the 20th Century Fox Marvel films, and the character's death at the end of Logan appeared to draw a line under his character arc, not to mention the Fox-owned X-Men films generally.

That is until Disney purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019 and was able to start incorporating the studio's assets into the MCU, the characters of Deadpool and Wolverine included. In the Deadpool & Wolverine film, Jackman's character is ultimately established as the 'anchor being' of Earth-10005 – in other words, the individual who will singlehandedly uphold the existence of an entire film universe and preserve the sanctity of all the characters within it.

Deadpool jokes that Jackman will be carrying on the role until he's 90. The question we have is this: if Wolverine is the anchor point of Earth-10005 (in other words, what was the 20th Century Fox movie universe), who is the anchor point of Earth-616, designated as the Disney-owned MCU?

At one point it was mooted to be Tom Holland's Spider-Man and before that, Marvel chief Kevin Feige seemed to allude to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). We'll likely find out as Marvel Phase Five and Marvel Phase Six take shape, either before or after the double-whammy of Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027), both of which have been recalibrated around Robert Downey Jr.'s shock casting as Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom.

It sets up another Deadpool and Wolverine collaboration

At the end of Deadpool & Wolverine, our chalk and cheese antiheroes look set to sacrifice themselves to destroy the evil Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) and Mr. Paradox. With the help of Mr. Paradox, Cassandra wants to use the Time Ripper to destroy every individual branch of the multiverse.

Wolverine wants to redeem himself for the death of all the X-Men; Deadpool wants to make amends for the selfishness that got him kicked out of the Avengers (he spills the tea on a failed meeting with Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan, once the driver to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man).

Owing to their combined regenerative powers, both characters survive, destroy the villains and save Earth-10005 with their lives intact, plus they're joined by Dafne Keen's Laura/X23 from the 2017 Logan film. Wolverine then decides to stay on Earth-10005 and replaces the iteration of Wolverine who died at the end of Logan, thus securing his place as an anchor being.

This paves the way for another Deadpool and Wolverine team-up – but will said collaboration occur within the MCU? At the end of Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool decides to stay on Earth-10005 – in other words, he will remain in the 20th Century Fox-originated film universe alongside his surrogate family, as opposed to joining the Disney-distributed MCU.

What does this mean? Well, it effectively establishes two branches within the MCU, one Fox-centric and the other Disney-centric and these will likely overlap at some point. In the Deadpool & Wolverine post-credits scene, following a hilarious crack at Chris Evans' Johnny Storm character from Fantastic Four, it's revealed that Deadpool still has his TempPad.

This gives him a window to enter the MCU in a later film, which we're expecting to be Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars (or possibly both?) Complicating the matter further is Wolverine's revelation that he knows who the Avengers are (he tells Deadpool this during their initial meeting at the bar), so maybe these Fox/Disney franchise intersection points will be exploited for even greater dramatic and comic effect as the MCU proceeds.

More pertinently, Jackman's return as Wolverine points toward the long-gestating MCU X-Men project. The mutant characters originated under 20th Century Fox in what is now being classified as Earth-10005. Now, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige has plans to draw the X-Men into the MCU fold, although release dates and precise details are thin on the ground.

There's no standalone X-Men project dated for either Marvel Phase Five or Marvel Phase Six, but that doesn't rule out a surprise cameo appearance (this will probably happen in one of the new Avengers movies). However, Feige was recently quoted as saying "[Deadpool & Wolverine] is where it all starts", so could this be a reference to the birth of the new MCU mutants?