Possible spoilers follow for Deadpool and Wolverine.
It's been less than 36 hours (at the time of writing) since Deadpool 3's first trailer was released, and Marvel fans have been poring over its footage to unearth every Easter egg they can find.
As big Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans, we're among the millions who've watched the official teaser for Deadpool and Wolverine – the movie's actual title – numerous times. Indeed, you only have to look at our Deadpool and Wolverine trailer breakdown to get an idea of how determined we've been to uncover its biggest secrets.
We're not afraid to admit, though, that we missed two potentially huge character reveals in its first trailer. There's one we're not fully convinced about, despite the fan fervor surrounding their apparent inclusion; the other, though, seems pretty legitimate to us.
This is your final spoiler warning: potentially big character spoilers for Deadpool 3 are discussed after the image below.
The first character – a legendary supervillain, no less – is someone we mentioned in our Deadpool and Wolverine trailer breakdown piece. The individual in question? Doctor Doom, one of the Fantastic Four's (and wider Marvel universe's) most iconic and complex big bads.
At the 1:45 mark of the Marvel Phase 5 movie's teaser, a mysterious character, who's sporting a very similar look to Doom's famous attire, is seen standing on top of a vehicle with a retractable satellite dish on it. Given the character's costume – complete with metallic armor, plus a green cloak and hood – it didn't take long for Marvel fans to theorize that Doom was finally set to make his MCU bow in Deadpool 3.
Further evidence of Doom's possible inclusion can be glimpsed via a brief shot of a comic book in the Deadpool 3 trailer's final moments. The issue in question is 2015's Secret Wars #5, which has Doom adorning its cover. We know that a Secret Wars movie will arrive as part of Marvel Phase 6, and likely bring the curtain down on Marvel's Multiverse Saga. Nonetheless, MCU fanatics also believe this is a strong hint that Doom will show up in Deadpool and Wolverine, either as the character we described earlier or in another guise.
Somebody answer me ?!!!!! IS THIS DOCTOR DOOM?????!!!!! #Deadpool #MarvelStudios #marveljesus #Deadpool3Trailer pic.twitter.com/o2bq7WRflzFebruary 12, 2024
Personally, I'm not convinced that the individual shown in the trailer is Doom, and nor do I believe he'll appear in Deadpool 3. A character of this magnitude, with as rich a comic-book history as any Marvel villain, deserves to be introduced in a Fantastic Four movie, and/or as the new overarching threat in the MCU's next saga.
I think this is just a clever piece of marketing on Marvel's part – the Disney subsidiary knows full well that a character wearing a similar outfit to Doom's would get fans talking, thereby generating hype for the only Marvel movie of 2024. It's a good guess on the fanbase's part, but I'd be amazed if this individual ends up being a new version of Doom, or even one we've seen previously (either Julian McMahon or Toby Kebbell's iterations respectively) in Fox's 2005 and 2015 Fantastic Four films.
There is another big character Easter egg, though, that we've all overlooked in the teaser – and it relates to a very specific Deadpool variant: Lady Deadpool, aka Wanda Wilson.
As spotted by X/Twitter user Thiago Romariz and later picked up on by Brazilian outlet Chippu, which has previous form for breaking Marvel news ahead of other websites, there's a very brief shot of what appears to be Lady Deadpool in the film's trailer. At the 1:49 mark we see someone – believed to be Deadpool by almost everyone – wielding two Uzis. However, the gloves this individual is wearing are different to the ones worn by Deadpool, as Romariz notes in his tweet (see below).
Lady PoolDeadpool pic.twitter.com/Nsxzik9BrkFebruary 12, 2024
Unless he undergoes a costume change at some point in his threequel, this can't be Deadpool. And, as comics readers know, Lady Deadpool prefers to use Uzis over pistols – the latter being Deadpool's firearms of choice. Join the dots, and it's pretty clear that Lady Deadpool will feature in Deadpool 3.
So, who could play Deadpool's female variant? One option is Blake Lively, wife of Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds is the actor who brought Deadpool to life on the big screen, so it makes sense that he'd enlist his fellow star and talented beau to make a fun-filled cameo.
Pop megastar Taylor Swift, who has long been rumored to show up in Deadpool and Wolverine, is another candidate. MCU leakers have claimed that she'll play the mutant known as Dazzler; but what if they're wrong and she portrays Lady Deadpool instead? Imagine the buzz that would generate pre-release, not to mention the amount of money Marvel would surely make as 'Swifties' flock to cinemas to see the powerhouse singer-songwriter in an MCU flick.
With Deadpool and Wolverine not due to hits theaters until July 26, there's plenty of time to continue speculating – and if I were Marvel I'd be reveling in the amount of conjecture and theorizing going on right now, especially after a bruising 12-month period for the entertainment behemoth.
