Matthew Macfadyen’s Paradox made Wade Wilson an intriguing proposal in Deadpool & Wolverine. The TVA agent tried to get the Merc with a Mouth to abandon his universe by offering Deadpool something he desperately wanted: a chance to join the Avengers. That sales pitch included showing past achievements by Earth-616’s mightiest heroes. But Paradox accidentally showed Deadpool something he wasn’t supposed to see.
Deadpool wasn’t supposed to see it because it hasn’t happened yet. Deadpool saw himself gravely wounded while an emotional Thor comforted him. It was a memorable promise, one Wade himself made reference to later in the film. Only that meeting never happened. That left MCU fans with an obvious question: will Deadpool and Thor actually join forces in a future film, or was that moment nothing more than a fun gag?
There’s no way to know because Marvel Studios probably doesn’t know yet, either.
Thor and Deadpool’s possible future together in combat was brief yet revealed a lot. The two heroes appeared to have a close, personal relationship. An emotional, worried Thor was very upset at Deadpool’s condition. When that moment happens, they will already share a close bond, suggesting they will spend meaningful time together before that. How? Why? In what movie or Disney+ show? We want to know more than Wade did.
There are also questions about that short sequence itself. Where are they? (Both in terms of planets and universes.) What year will it take place? Who will they be fighting? Is that a potential scene from Secret Wars or another upcoming Avengers movie?
Will Deadpool also really be at death’s door? Maybe not. That brief footage on the TVA monitor was reminiscent of the over-the-top Asgardian plays seen in Thor films. The Merc with a Mouth and the God of Thunder might have a meaningful relationship at that point, but we might ultimately learn that moment isn’t as intense or dangerous as it seems. It might prove to be nothing more than a silly interaction between two characters known for big screen foolishness.
We do know how it was possible for Deadpool to see that interaction with a superhero he doesn’t even know. The TVA exists outside of time and space. In that realm the past, present, and future aren’t linear. They all exist at once. But that’s also why that moment might never actually happen. Things can change on the Sacred Timeline dramatically. Variants go to the Void and vanish forever. The TVA also monitors every branch of every multiverse, so that might have been footage of a totally different Deadpool with a totally different Thor, neither of whom we’ll ever meet.
Or we might never see that scene because it was nothing more than a funny Deadpool & Wolverine joke. That “tease” might have just been director Shawn Levy teasing fans he knew would be desperate for signs about the MCU’s future. It’s an even funnier gag if it never gets a payoff. People will wait for it to happen forever, and the longer they do the funnier it’ll get.
So which is it: a future promise or meta MCU joke? Does Marvel Studios already know exactly when that Deadpool and Thor scene will take place and in what movie? Or are there no current plans to ever revisit that scene and there never will be? The film didn’t commit to either possibility, leaving every option on the table. The gag works entirely on its own and always will, so Marvel doesn’t have to do anything. But even if that is the plan right now, Kevin Feige and cohorts can always decide to make it real later. They have the freedom to pay it off.
Even if the MCU has exact plans for Deadpool and Thor, that doesn’t mean it’ll happen. Scripts change. Executives cancel movies all the time. But that’s exactly why someday someone can also decide to make something that was only a funny gag into an actual plot point.
Marvel probably doesn’t know what the future holds for Deadpool and Thor anymore than we do. But we definitely hope the future includes them teaming up.