The Deadpool & Wolverine Idea would have changed the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe

The world had to wait six years to see Ryan Reynolds suit up as the Merc with a Mouth after the commercial success of 2018’s “Deadpool 2,” but it’s fair to say the wait was worth it. The resulting third installment in the franchise was “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which, as the title suggests, finally reunited Reynolds on screen with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. It was a resounding success, ranking as one of the biggest films of 2024. Making this film a reality was no small task, and a myriad of wild ideas were tossed around before landing on this team-up.

“Assembled: The Making of Deadpool & Wolverine” now streaming on Disney+ and offers a lot of insight from the filmmakers into how the film was made. “I think Ryan had 19, 20 ideas that threw something at the wall,” Reynolds said in the documentary. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige turned down several pitches for “Deadpool 3,” including a low-budget “Sundance” version. None of these ideas reached the level required to greenlight the film.

A big part of the problem is that they had to make Deadpool fit into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. One possible solution to that problem, according to producer Wendy Jacobson, was to make it seem like Deadpool was hanging around the MCU the whole time. As she explained in the documentary:

“We had a ‘Deadpool’s Deleted Scenes Extravaganza’ where we were trying to show that he was in the MCU the whole time – you just didn’t see his scenes, they were all on the cutting room floor. We were really just trying to find a reason to , that this movie is.”

“At one point, Ryan had this idea for a ‘Thor 2’ frame-by-frame remake until the end of the first act,” Jacobson previously explained of an early idea Reynolds had for “Deadpool 3.” The number of ways this movie could have been different if Marvel had agreed to a different idea is staggering to consider.

The above artwork was featured in the documentary to help illustrate how this proposed “‘Deadpool’s Deleted Scenes Extravaganza” sequence could have played out. Deadpool was also shown some kind of clever interaction with Thanos. This idea is very meta and would have served the character well. Would it have served the MCU though? That is the bigger question. Ultimately, the powers that be decided against it. Speaking in the doc, Feige explained that they worked hard with Reynolds to find the right idea.

“We spent a long time working with Ryan to find the best idea. Ryan Reynolds is an idea machine. He is almost entirely responsible for bringing that character to the big screen. He believed in it when very few other people did that, in a very different time for Marvel movies, and created something completely unique.”

In the end, it was Hugh Jackman who saved “Deadpool 3” with a single phone call when he decided he wanted to be in the movie. From there it was off to the races. Shawn Levy (“Real Steel,” “The Adam Project”) ended up in the director’s chair, and it’s hard to imagine things going any better, all things considered. “Deadpool & Wolverine” now ranks as the biggest R-rated movie in history, and these characters were successfully integrated into the MCU without the need for such an ambitious gimmick. Granted, it could have been fun to watch, but it’s one of those things that’s more of a fun idea than it is a practical one.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is now streaming on Disney+. You can also grab a copy of the film on 4K, Blu-ray or DVD via Amazon.