X-Men Director Matthew Vaughn Teases Deadpool 3 Could ‘Save’ Marvel Cinematic Universe

The long-awaited sequel to 2018’s Deadpool 2, the third film in the Ryan Reynolds franchise unites the star with Hugh Jackman, who is reprising his Wolverine after retiring the character in 2017’s Logan. It also marks the first time an X-Men film will be firmly part of the MCU.

Just a year after Deadpool 2 continued the success of the franchise, Disney acquired Fox. Until that point, Fox had owned the film rights to Marvel’s mutant franchise. Vaughn had been a big part of the soft reboot of the mutants with X-Men: First Class back in 2011.

Now, the director is sharing his enthusiasm for two of Marvel’s most popular X-related characters making their way into the MCU proper in the franchise’s first R-rated film with Deadpool 3, saying that what he knows of the project so far is “unbelievable.”

“That’s going to be the jolt,” Vaughn told BroBible’s Post-Credit podcast of Deadpool and Wolverine entering the MCU. “The Marvel universe is about to have a jolt of them and it’s going to bring that body back to life.”

“I think Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are about to save the whole Marvel universe,” he added. “I’m a genuine fan of the X-Men, all I want is for the movies to be as good as they should be.”

Ever since the Disney-Fox acquisition fans have been wondering when the X-Men would make their appearances in the interconnected and expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the addition of a multiverse, fans got a version of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X from Fox’s run in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The multiverse is still a huge factor, but it seems more likely that Reynolds and Jackman will be portraying the same versions of their characters that fans have been following and loving for years. It’s unknown if they’ll just already be in the MCU or somehow make the move.

Or perhaps the mutants have always been there … or they will have always been there by the time Deadpool 3 wraps. That’s right, what’s a multiverse to a time-travel caper. As reported on Monday, Marvel’s Japanese website may have revealed more about the film’s plot with a synopsis that was deleted as fast as it arrived.

The (translated) synopsis teases that “the irresponsible hero Deadpool will change the history of the MCU with Wolverine!?” If that’s an accurate translation, that could suggest major implications for the entire MCU coming out of this film.

It would make for an easier transition into having the X-Men be a part of the MCU if it’s established that they’ve kind of always been there. But does the addition of Reynolds and jackman — as well as alt-Stewart — suggest that the previous X-films also happened? That would create a chaotic timeline.

It’s more likely, considering the ages of the original X-casts, that Deadpool 3 will serve as a swan song of sorts to the Fox franchise as we transition into a new iteration of the X-Men for the MCU. It would certainly be easier for future writers and directors to not be beholden to all that complex Fox continuity.

Regardless of how Deadpool 3 plays out, the X-Men are expected to play a big part in the future of the MCU. And frankly, after recent box office returns, the franchise could use a boost.

The X-Men brings in a massive roster of fan-favorite characters to play with which could easily re-energize the MCU, while their villains and conflicts with the government over mutant rights creates a whole new avenue of tensions to explore.

Deadpool 3 also brings back several other mutant-related characters, along with a lot of other roles that have been kept under wraps. The largely mysterious film is set to hit theaters on July 26, 2024.