Deadpool and Wolverine: Marvel movie release date, trailer, confirmed cast, plot rumors, and more

Deadpool and Wolverine's release date is approaching faster than one of the Merc With a Mouth's famous quick-witted zingers. At the time of writing, the only Marvel movie that'll be released in 2024 is one month away from barreling into theaters, so you'll want to get the lowdown on it before it debuts.

In this guide, we've rounded up the latest news and rumors about the forthcoming Marvel Phase 5 movie, including its official launch date, confirmed cast, plot brief, trailers, and how it'll impact the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Once you've reached the end, you'll be more than ready to shout "let's [expletive] go!".

Major spoilers follow for every X-Men and Deadpool film to date, while potentially big spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine are also on the way. Consider this your final warning.

Deadpool and Wolverine release date

Deadpool and Wolverine will draw their blades and claws in US theaters on Friday, July 26. It'll arrive a day earlier (Thursday, July 25) in the UK and Australia.

It's unclear how long its runtime will be, though the general consensus is that it'll be at least two hours long. We'll update this section once we've seen the film to confirm as much.

Deadpool and Wolverine trailers

Deadpool 3's main trailer was released in mid-April, and it not only gives us another tasty glimpse into what its story will entail (more on this later) and how mature it'll be, but it's also absolutely stuffed with Marvel references. Check out our article on the 6 best Marvel Easter eggs we found in Deadpool and Wolverine's latest teaser.

Missed the flick's first trailer, which was released in mid-February? Watch it below and then read our Deadpool and Wolverine trailer breakdown to learn about the 10 things you missed during your first or 15th watch.

Oh, and, for Best Friend's Day – you know, because Deadpool and Wolverine are clearly best buds in this flick – on June 8, Marvel released a new teaser that's got some new tantalizing teases. Check it out below:

Deadpool 3 cast: confirmed and rumored

Here's Deadpool and Wolverine's cast list so far. The below includes individuals confirmed to appear by Marvel, as well as those who have been unofficially announced (by the press) to cameo:

• Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool
• Hugh Jackman as James 'Logan' Howlett/Wolverine
• Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Paradox
• Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova
• Morena Baccarin as Vanessa 
• Stefan Kapičić as Colossus
• Brianna Hildebrand as Teenage Negasonic Warhead
• Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio
• Leslie Uggams as Blind Al
• Karan Soni as Dopinder
• Rob Delaney as Peter
• Aaron Stanford as Pyro
• Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios
• Rob Delaney as TBC

Reynolds and Jackman need no introduction as their respective characters, but it was nonetheless surprising to hear Jackman would return as Wolverine one final time for this threequel. It seemed he'd called time on his iconic run as the adamantium-clawed mutant with 2016's Logan, the final entry in Fox's deceased X-Men film universe. 

However, speaking to CNN last January, Jackman said he didn't want to regret turning down the opportunity to co-star in a film alongside Reynolds' Regenerating Degenerate, hence his decision to portray Wolverine again. That was in spite of Marvel president Kevin Feige telling Jackman (per Variety) not to return and sully his time as the iconic character.

As confirmed by the first trailer, Baccarin (Vanessa), Kapičić (Colossus), Hildebrand (Negasonic), Kutsuna (Yukio), Uggams (Blind Al), Soni (Dopinder), and Delaney (Peter) will reprise their roles from the first two Deadpool films.

Macfadyen (Succession) is also on board as Mr. Paradox, a new Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent, which adds major ties between Deadpool 3 and Loki season 2. Macfayden teased to Empire magazine (per Deadpool Updates on X/Twitter) that Paradox is "sexy [and] heroic", but his suggestion that Paradox "appears on the surface to be quite helpful" hints at a potential antagonistic arc for him.

Trailer one also revealed Stanford is back as the fiery mutant known as Pyro, who featured in the first three X-Men films. Corrin (The Crown) is also confirmed to be playing the movie's primary villain Cassandra Nova, the biological twin sister of Charles Xavier (the X-Men's founder, for the uninitiated), who is a similarly talented telepath, but one who uses her powers for destructive purposes. As revealed in Welcome to Wrexham season 3 episode 5, Delaney is also confirmed to feature as another TVA agent, though it's unclear how big of a role he'll play in the story.

Given this movie's multiversal scope, we can expect other X-Men and defunct Fox universe characters to cameo. The first of those is Garner (per THR), who is expected to reprise her role as Elektra from 2003's Daredevil film and the character's 2005 self-titled flick.

Meanwhile, Marvel fans are convinced they spotted two big character Easter eggs in the film's first trailer: iconic Fantastic Four adversary Doctor Doom and Lady Deadpool, a multiversal variant of the wisecracking antihero. Fans think they spotted Lady Deadpool in the Best Friend's Day teaser, with many suggesting this variant will be played by Reynolds' wife Blake Lively. However, serial leaker MyTimeToShineHello (MTTSH) claims Lively won't appear. Place your bets on who is playing Lady Deadpool now.

As for actors who say they won't appear, Charlie Cox won't be adding to his MCU cameo roles – the Daredevil star telling TechRadar he isn't in Deadpool 3. Zazie Beetz also told Decider she won't be back as Deadpool 2's Domino. Neither will Josh Brolin, who played Cable in Deadpool 2 (per Collider), Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut from X-Men: The Last Stand (via Yahoo) – there appears to be a Juggernaut variant in  one of the trailers, though – or Famke Janssen as Jean Grey from the original X-Men film trilogy (per ScreenGeek).

Now, let's take a look at the sizeable list of potential cameos we could see in Deadpool and Wolverine. Potentially massive spoilers follow!

Remember the relentless churn concerning Doctor Strange 2's potential cameos? MCU fans find themselves in a similar spin over the sheer number of wild cast rumors here.

With Corrin playing Nova, Patrick Stewart has been touted to make another appearance as Charles Xavier/Professor X, everyone's favorite telepath (we just hope he doesn't die again!). For what it's worth, Stewart has apparently held discussions about featuring, telling the Happy Sad Confused podcast: "It [a cameo] has come up."

Jackman and (potentially) Stewart's appearances in Deadpool and Wolverine raise questions about other former X-Men stars turning up. To date, there have been 13 X-Men or X-Men-adjacent films – read our X-Men movies in order guide for more details – so there are numerous big names who could pop up.

Indeed, there's no end to speculation that Ian McKellen and/or Michael Fassbender will appear as their iterations of Magneto. James McAvoy's young Professor X is rumored to feature, although he downplayed such suggestions to Entertainment Tonight. A Succession reunion between Macfadyen and Brian Cox – the latter portraying William Stryker, the man behind Wolverine's creation, in numerous X-Men films – was rumored, but Cox told The Starting Line podcast he knew nothing about that. James Marsden, who played Cyclops in the original movie trilogy, didn't rule himself out when speaking to The Playlist, though.

As the above X/Twitter post's leaked images reveal, Sabretooth will be making his first Marvel movie appearance since 2000's X-Men. There are also rumors Toad, who also debuted in that flick, will feature. Lady Deathstrike (X-2: X-Men United) and Azazel (X-Men: First Class) were revealed to be returning in Deadpool 3's main trailer as well. Then there's The Marvels' post-credits scene, which confirmed the return of Kelsey Grammer's Beast from the first three X-Men films (and that the X-Men exist in the MCU, albeit in a parallel dimension). So, there's an opportunity for other actors to cross over from former X-Men films into the MCU.

Elsewhere, the first trailer teased Jackman could portray one of Wolverine's aliases – the Madripoor-dwelling Patch – so we could see Deadpool and Wolverine variants in this multiverse-centric movie. However, MTTSH also claims Patch will be played by a different actor. In fact, could Patch be played by Henry Cavill? Fellow leaker CanWeGetSomeToast (CWGST) suggests The Witcher alum will feature, so is it too much of a stretch to suggest Cavill could portray Patch in a fan pleasing cameo?

There are plenty – and we mean plenty – of other cameo rumors to try and keep track of. CWGST (per MarvelNewsFilms) claims Happy Hogan will show up, DanielRPK (again, via MarvelNewsFilms) also suggests Dafne Keen and Channing Tatum secretly filmed scenes as X-23 (last seen in Logan) and beloved X-Men member Gambit, although Keen told On Demand Entertainment that she won't pop up here.

Further cameo talk was fuelled by KnightEdgeMedia's Caleb Williams tweeting that Jessica Alba's Sue Storm will appear, while MTTSH (per MarvelNewsFilms again) even suggests Chris Evans will return to his superhero roots to portray a variant of Johnny Storm/The Human Torch.

Finally – and this would arguably be the biggest cameo of them all, if it's true – pop megastar Taylor Swift has long been rumored to make a shock cameo as Dazzler, a mutant with the ability to turn sonic vibrations into various forms of light.

For their part, Reynolds (via the Vancouver Sun) and Levy (per The Wrap) haven't exactly stopped the rumor mill going into overdrive with teasing comments, while MTTSH has claimed Swift will simply play herself in the threequel. We'll see if there's any truth to this hot speculation once the movie opens in theaters.

Deadpool 3 story speculation

Full spoilers follow for Deadpool 2 and Logan.

Marvel hasn't released an official plot synopsis for Deadpool and Wolverine. Usually, one is revealed alongside a project's first teaser but, given the secrecy surrounding this film, a story brief hasn't been provided. Still, based on its trailers and various reports, we have some idea of what its plot will entail.

For starters, Deadpool 3 will be R-rated, making it the first MCU film to carry this age rating. In January, Marvel released its first 18-plus TV show in Echo, so it's already laid the groundwork for adult-centric MCU projects to take their place alongside their PG-13 brethren.

Next, director Shawn Levy doesn't consider this film to be Deadpool 3. Speaking to Collider, he said: "It's very much a Deadpool movie, but this is not Deadpool 3. This is Deadpool & Wolverine, and it is singular because of that."

That doesn't mean that Marvel's latest flick will be a standalone affair. Indeed, there are numerous ties to previous X-Men movies, suggesting there'll be some continuity from 20th Century Fox's messy X-Men film timeline. That said, Levy also told AP News that MCU newcomers won't need to watch every Deadpool and X-Men movie as homework to enjoy this one.

Full spoilers for some Deadpool and X-Men movies, plus potentially big story spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine, follow.

So, how will Deadpool and Wolverine begin? The first trailer shows Wade has retired from the antihero life, but things aren't going well with Vanessa. In fact, the latest issue of Total Film magazine (thanks to IGN for the catch) not only revealed that the movie is set six years after Deadpool 2 but Vanessa also has a new boyfriend. So much for saving her in your last flick, eh, Wade?

Anyway, Wade's whisked away by the TVA amid some birthday celebrations after he messed with the space-time continuum – at the end of Deadpool 2 – using Cable's time-travel device. It's not unreasonable to assume that the TVA caught wind of his multiversal adventures and want to put his time-traveling experience to good use.

The TVA look like they'll try and strike a similar deal with the former as they did with Loki – i.e. help the TVA with a bigger multiversal threat in return for being allowed to live. Unlike Loki, though, we suspect the chaotic Deadpool won't be pleased with being kept on a leash by a bureaucratic organization, even if it's more benevolent in the wake of Loki season 2. Of course, Deadpool and Wolverine could be set before the end of Loki's second season, which would mean it's an organization that's still caught up in red tape.

But we're getting off track. Jackman's return as Wolverine sparked concern among fans of Logan, with the titular character dying in that film. It was a fitting end for Jackman's iconic run as Wolverine, so viewers were worried that Deadpool and Wolverine would undo the bittersweet nature of Jackman's at-the-time final outing.

In a September 2022 YouTube video, however, Reynolds and Jackman addressed the biggest question surrounding Wolverine's reappearance – that being, how he's alive in this movie. "Logan died in Logan, [so] we're not touching that," Reynolds explained, thus easing potential fan disgruntlement.

How will this movie address Wolverine's supposed resurrection? By not bringing him back from the dead at all. Per SiriusXM, Jackman revealed that Deadpool 2's time-travel device allowed Wade to travel back in time and/or to other Marvel timelines. In short, Deadpool could travel to an alternate universe where Wolverine is still alive. Alternatively, he might team up with a Wolverine variant at the TVA, if one has been incarcerated there for some time.

So, it's still unclear which Wolverine is being played by Jackman. Is it the iteration we see in Logan, aka the one who helped to alter the X-Men movie timeline in 2014's Days of Future Past (DoFP), who's now pulled out of his timeline before the events of Logan due to his own tampering of said timeline (that was confusing to type out)? Is it the original Wolverine from the first X-Men film trilogy, or a completely new variant? If we had to guess, we think it's the one from Logan, which would place Deadpool and Wolverine between DoFP and Logan.

Anyway, with the film's leading pair making the jump to the MCU – we hope there's a superhero landing once they do – from Fox's X-Men film franchise, we'd be surprised if Marvel doesn't celebrate and/or poke fun at those movies. Feige started in Hollywood as a producer on the first few X-Men movies, so it would be a missed opportunity if he didn't pay tribute to them and bring his filmmaking journey full circle.

Judging by leaked images and first trailer (per the Deadpool Updates X/Twitter post above), a giant 20th Century Fox logo was spotted during filming. Said logo is also briefly glimpsed in both teasers for scenes set in The Void. Considering Deadpool loves to break the fourth wall, don't be surprised if Deadpool and Wolverine takes a very meta approach to Fox's fallen franchise.

Speaking of The Void – you know, the place at the End of Time (first seen in Loki season 1) where characters from pruned timelines are sent to be consumed by the giant, sentient, trash-temporal entity known as Alioth – CWGST (via MarvelNewsFilms) claims the bulk of this film will be set there. Is this where our two heroes are sent to, by the TVA, to stop Nova?

As for Nova, how does she fit into the story? It seems she's operating out of a Void-based headquarters and could be the reason for a) multiversal problems that the TVA need our heroes' help with, b) the culprit behind the demise of this Wolverine's timeline (Mr. Paradox does say he failed to save his timeline in the second trailer), or c) both. Time will tell which of these options is the right one.

Deadpool and Wolverine might even take some amusing shots at the MCU itself. Leaked images suggest we'll see a modified version of Moon Knight's cupcake van, while the second trailer appeared to show a modified version of Captain America: The First Avenger's Red Skull car. With Karan Soni also teasing (per Collider) that Deadpool 3 is full of jokes aimed at Feige – Wade Wilson namechecks him in the movie's main trailer – we don't think anyone will be safe from Wilson's witty remarks.

There are lots of other rumors, but we'd be here all day if we covered them all, so a quick round-up will have to suffice.

As mentioned in our cast section, Reynolds and Jackman could play multiple iterations of the characters. Leaked on-set images showed Reynolds as a variant with long hair and an armor-plated costume (per the Daily Mail), so the acting duo might get credited for playing multiple versions of the same character.

Next, another MCU leaker in Alex P has hinted Deadpool will change the MCU's history in some way, while CWGST (per MarvelNewsFilms) says Deadpool will get a new suit and adamantium-based katanas as gifts from the TVA. Finally, there's tentative gossip that Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies will be referenced (thanks to Reddit for the catch). If even half of this proves correct, we're in for a wild and highly entertaining ride.

Where to watch the Deadpool and X-Men movies

Want to watch every X-Men and Deadpool movie before Deadpool and Wolverine? You're in luck. Most are available on Disney Plus – in fact, every single Deadpool and X-Men film is there on one of the world's best streaming services in the UK and Australia.

There are a few caveats for US viewers. All but one are also on Disney Plus, with X-Men: Days of Future Past being the only outlier. It's available to rent and/or buy. Also, X-Men: First Class and X-Men 2 (or X2: X-Men United, if you prefer) are streamable on Hulu and Starz, too.

How will Deadpool and Wolverine impact the MCU?

If Deadpool and Wolverine is as chaotic as it sounds, it could have serious repercussions for the MCU's multiversal narrative.

Fan reception to most Marvel Phase 4 and 5 projects has been lukewarm at best so far, with only Spider-Man: No Way Home, Loki, and X-Men 97 capturing audiences' imagination. Doctor Strange 2, What If...?, and Ant-Man 3 have flattered to deceive and, with few other recent movies and TV shows being of a multiverse-centric nature, viewers haven't bought into the MCU's latest multi-phase saga. 

That's before we take Jonathan Majors' firing as Kang into account. Marvel is reportedly exploring whether to recast the multiversal villain or overhaul the Multiverse Saga's entire plot, so it's hard to pinpoint where things could go next. Heck, Deadpool and Wolverine might have undergone narrative revisions in light of Majors' departure and have an open-ended finale that gives Marvel some wriggle room as it reworks its forthcoming line-up.

Right now, how Marvel's next big-screen offering impacts the wider MCU remains a mystery. For what it's worth, THR suggests it's "the most important project for the studio outside of anything with Avengers in the title", so it sounds like Marvel is banking on the movie being a massive success.

Given the issues it's faced recently, Marvel could really do with Deadpool and Wolverine being a multi-billion dollar hit to get the MCU back on track. Outside of that and rumors that it'll set up events leading into the next two Avengers films, nobody truly knows how Deadpool 3 will influence the MCU's future.

For more Marvel-based coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order. Alternatively, see which MCU TV shows and films made it onto our best Disney Plus shows and best Disney Plus movies lists. Lastly, read our guide on X-Men 97 season 2.