Deadpool’s Complete X-Men & MCU Timeline Explained

Summary

• Ryan Reynolds initially portrayed Wade Wilson’s Deadpool in 2009’s
  X-Men Origins: Wolverine
  ,
• The actor played a more comic-accurate version in 2016’s
  Deadpool
  and 2018’s
  Deadpool 2
  .
• Deadpool & Wolverine
  brings Fox’s X-Men Universe into the MCU.

Ryan Reynolds has portrayed various iterations of Deadpool since 2009, and joined the MCU following Deadpool & Wolverine’s release in July 2024. As far back as 2004, Ryan Reynolds had expressed interest in bringing Marvel Comics’ Merc-with-a-Mouth to the big screen, originally in a planned New Line Cinema film adaptation that would have been directed by David S. Goyer. This came following Marvel Comics’ Deadpool referring to his appearance as “Ryan Reynolds crossed with a shar-pei“ in 2004’s Cable & Deadpool #2, and Reynolds’ Deadpool dreams finally came true in Fox’s 2009 project X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s Deadpool deviated massively from the Marvel Comics character, but Ryan Reynolds’ popularity in the role led to 20th Century Fox putting a more comic-accurate approach to the antihero into development. 2016’s Deadpool and 2018’s Deadpool 2 broke numerous records for R-rated movies, and launched Reynolds to international acclaim. Following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, Ryan Reynolds and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige quickly confirmed that Reynolds would return as Deadpool in the MCU, with Deadpool & Wolverine‘s release cementing this fact with its multiversal adventures.

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14 Wade Wilson Becomes Weapon XI In Fox’s Original X-Men Timeline

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

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In 20th Century Fox’s original timeline, Ryan Reynolds debuted as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, introduced as a member of Team X under the command of William Stryker. His mutation gifts him enhanced reflexes and agility, and makes him the subject of Stryker’s Weapon XI experiment. Powers from other mutants, including Kestrel, Bolt, Cyclops and Wolverine, are combined in Wilson’s body, though he is brainwashed by Stryker, forcing him to fight Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Liev Schreiber’s Sabretooth. This version is beheaded, but survives nonetheless, though was rewritten in Fox’s revised X-Men timeline.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine pg-13 Sci-FiAction

Director Gavin Hood Release Date April 30, 2009

13 The Current Wade Wilson Grows Up In Canada & Becomes A Special Forces Soldier (1975-2010s)

Deadpool (2016)

Following the events of 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, a new version of Wade Wilson was born in 1975 in Regina, Canada. Not much is known about Wade Wilson’s early life, he later joked with Vanessa Carlyle that he had a childhood full of hardship. More seriously, Wilson did note that family was an “f-word” for him, and suggested that his father may have been abusive before leaving. At some point, Wilson became a member of the Canadian Special Forces, met bartender Weasel and formed a friendship with Bob, but was dishonorably discharged, leading to him becoming a mercenary-for-hire.

Deadpool RSuperheroActionAdventureComedyFantasySci-Fi

Director Tim Miller Release Date February 9, 2016

12 Wade Wilson Becomes A Mercenary-For-Hire (2010s)

Deadpool (2016)

When audiences are introduced to Ryan Reynolds’ new-and-improved Wade Wilson in Deadpool, he is working as a mercenary-for-hire operating at Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Girls. He takes a job from teenager Megan to get pizza delivery boy Jeremy to stop stalking her, but refuses to dub himself a hero. Wade Wilson is incredibly skilled at his work, and often brutal in his methods, but is one of the most effective mercenaries at Sister Margaret’s. At the bar, they run a Dead Pool, and, at one point, Weasel bets money on Wilson being killed, despite the two being close friends.

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11 Wade Wilson Meets Vanessa Carlyle & Gets His Cancer Diagnosis (2010s)

Deadpool (2016)

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After helping Megan with her stalker problem, Wade Wilson meets a prostitute named Vanessa Carlyle, portrayed by Morena Baccarin. The pair bond over their troubled childhoods and quickly begin a sexual relationship, though this soon develops into a romantic connection. Wade and Vanessa are together for roughly a year before the former proposes marriage, though this is overshadowed by a diagnosis of terminal cancer in his liver, lungs, prostate and brain. Wilson attempts to leave Vanessa, hoping to spare her from his decline, but she chooses to stay by his side, despite a ticking clock being placed on his life.

10 Wade Wilson Becomes A Mutant (2010s)

Deadpool (2016)

A saving grace of sorts presents itself when Wilson meets the “Recruiter” at Sister Margaret’s, who offers him the chance to cure his cancer by becoming a mutant. Initially hesitant, Wilson soon agrees, and undergoes a series of torturous sessions in an effort to unlock his latent mutant genes, overseen by Ed Skrein’s Ajax, a.k.a. Francis Freeman. After many failed attempts, Wilson is locked in a chamber with fluctuating air for days, which unlocks his mutation, but leaves him with extensive scarring over his entire body. Nevertheless, he now has a regenerative healing factor that keeps his cancer at bay.

In Marvel Comics, Wade Wilson’s healing factor was artificially implanted by the Canadian government’s Department K. This was derived from Wolverine’s DNA.

9 Deadpool Battles Ajax With Colossus & Negasonic Teenage Warhead (2016)

Deadpool (2016)

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Hoping Ajax can revert him to his former appearance, Wade Wilson, now operating as the vigilante Deadpool, hunts him. During this chase, Deadpool meets X-Men members Stefan Kapičić’s Colossus and Brianna Hildebrand’s Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and moves in with Leslie Uggams’ Blind Al, not wanting to return to Vanessa in his current state. However, when Vanessa is captured by Ajax, Deadpool engages in a final battle with the villain, which ends with Ajax revealing that Deadpool’s scarring is irreversible. This prompts Deadpool to kill his staunch enemy and reveal his true face to Vanessa, with the pair reigniting their relationship.

8 Deadpool Continues His Work As A Mercenary (2016-2018)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

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After reestablishing his relationship with Vanessa, Deadpool continues to work as a vigilante and mercenary, traveling across the globe to take down numerous villains. This sees him take on many guises, including briefly working as a stripper with a blonde wig and stiletto boots, but Wade Wilson always hangs onto his wise-cracking jokes and brilliant fourth-wall breaks. This comes to a head back in the United States, where Deadpool attempts to kill mobster Sergei Valishnikov on the day of his anniversary with Vanessa. Deciding this mission is taking too much time, Deadpool aborts, but this has dire consequences.

Deadpool 2 RSuperheroActionComedySci-Fi

Director David Leitch Release Date May 10, 2018

7 Vanessa Is Killed & Deadpool Trains To Be In The X-Men (2018)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Deadpool is unwittingly followed home by Valishnikov’s men, one of whom kills Vanessa before Wilson can intercept. Wilson kills all the men, and spends the next six months trying to find ways to kill himself, but his body reconstitutes itself every time. Trying to help, Colossus proposes that Deadpool train to be in the X-Men, but on his first mission, Deadpool kills one of the staff members at the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation, who had been abusing Julian Dennison’s Russell Collins and other young mutants. This action lands Deadpool and Collins in the Ice Box, a prison for mutants.

6 Deadpool Meets Cable In The Ice Box (2018)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

While in the Ice Box, Russell Collins forms a friendship with Juggernaut, and Wade Wilson begins to feel the effects of his cancer, as his power-dampening collar means he is no longer healing himself. Soon, the prison is attacked by Josh Brolin’s Cable, a traveler from the future who wants to kill Russell Collins before he has the chance to become a villain and murder Cable’s wife and daughter. Deadpool and Cable fight, throwing the pair out of the prison. Wade Wilson sees Vanessa during a near-death experience, and becomes convinced that he needs to save Collins from Cable’s wrath.

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5 Deadpool Forms X-Force (2018)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

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In an effort to save Russell Collins, Deadpool and Weasel bring together a selection of mutants to form X-Force. This team includes Zazie Beetz’s Domino, Terry Crews’ Bedlam, Lewis Tan’s Shatterstar, Bill Skarsgård’s Zeitgeist, Brad Pitt’s Vanisher and Rob Delaney’s Peter, the team’s only human member. Unfortunately, all but Deadpool and Domino are killed during X-Force’s first mission, as forecast winds blow their parachutes into dangerous situations. Deadpool and Domino battle Cable and Juggernaut, culminating in Deadpool being torn in half, but his legs soon regrow, and he enters into a deal with Cable to try and spare Collins’ life.

Peter and Shatterstar appear in the first trailer for Marvel Studios’
Deadpool & Wolverine
, proving that Deadpool was able to save them using time travel at the end of
Deadpool 2
.

4 Deadpool & His Team Save Russell Collins (2018)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Traveling back to the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation, Colossues, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Shioli Kutsuna’s Yukio battle Juggernaut, while Deadpool and Cable speak to Russell Collins. On the verge of killing his abusive headmaster, Collins is slowly talked down by Deadpool, who offered himself as a sacrifice instead, using a power-dampening collar for emphasis. Cable isn’t convinced, however, and fires a shot at Collins, which Deadpool intercepts. Deadpool’s collar means he is killed by this gunshot, changing Collins’ path and saving Cable’s family. Cable decides to travel into the past and save Deadpool, ensuring the future is still secure.

3 Deadpool Changes Events Throughout History (2018)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

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After being saved by Cable, Wade Wilson uses his time travel technology to change several major events in history. He first saves Vanessa, killing the man initially responsible for her death, and then saves members of his doomed X-Force team, including the human Peter. He also travels further back to kill the version of himself from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and kills Ryan Reynolds before taking the lead role in 2011’s reviled Green Lantern. Deadpool then travels to 1889 to kill baby Hitler, but can’t go through with it, though suggests that Cable wouldn’t have a problem with killing the child.

2 Deadpool Tries To Join The Avengers (2018)

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

The Deadpool & Wolverine timeline opens seemingly not long after Deadpool 2, with the antihero using Cable’s time travel device to go to Earth-616 – the main MCU timeline – and set up a formal meeting with Happy Hogan to try and join the Avengers. This interview goes decidedly poorly, which sends Deadpool into a slump of sorts when he returns to his home timeline, resulting in him and Vanessa breaking up, and seeing him hang up his superhero costume and instead begin working at a car dealership.

This complex time in Wade Wilson’s life continues for six years, until Deadpool is stolen away by the Time Variance Authority to begin Deadpool & Wolverine‘s main story. The TVA introduce Deadpool to the concept of the multiverse properly, and reveal to him that his world is dying as a result of his universe’s Wolverine dying in Logan, since the character was an anchor being – a person whose existence is inherently tied to the fate of their reality. This prompts the antihero to embark on a new mission, this time teaming up with a different Wolverine in order to pull it off.

1 Deadpool Joins Forces With Wolverine To Save His Universe (2024)

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

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The main plot of Deadpool & Wolverine unfolds after Deadpool learns about the impending destruction of his universe, setting him up to be its savior. Ryan Reynolds’ Marvel hero swiftly goes searching for a Wolverine variant he can bring into his universe in order to replace the version that died in Logan, allowing the Fox timeline to gain another anchor being in order to tether it firmly in place.

Eventually, he finds the “worst” Wolverine variant – who is held by others and himself as being responsible for the death of all of his loved ones – and teams up with him after both characters find themselves pruned into the Void by Paradox, a rogue TVA agent that intends to accelerate the destruction of Earth-10005 via a “Time Ripper” that can speed up the process. In the Void, Deadpool & Wolverine encounter a range of familiar faces from Marvel’s movie history, but also some new ones, including Cassandra Nova, a notable villain and the sibling of Charles Xavier.

After teaming up with a group of heroes who were trapped in the Void also – most crucially containing Dafne Keen’s Laura – the duo are able to semi-forcibly convince Cassandra to send them to Earth-10005. However, Cassandra follows them to the universe and decides she wishes to use the Time Ripper to destroy the world herself. This leads to the ending of Deadpool & Wolverine, wherein both heroes seemingly sacrifice themselves in order to try and destroy the Time Ripper and save Earth-10005.

As it turns out, the fact that both heroes tried to sacrifice themselves at the same time made it survivable by sharing the burden, resulting in both Deadpool and Wolverine making it out of the movie alive, though the Time Ripper does kill Cassandra Nova. The TVA learn of Paradox’s plans – which were unsanctioned – and arrest him, revealing to the hero duo that they have successfully saved the timeline, that is now regrowing once more.

Deadpool’s quest closes out with the tease of him getting back together with Vanessa, and with the suggestion the Deadpool movie’s Wolverine will be able to continue to live in Earth-10005 alongside Laura. While the nature of Deadpool & Wolverine being an MCU crossover suggests he could appear in more upcoming movies, this provides a happy end to the Deadpool trilogy itself, and suggests that other aspects of the Fox universe itself could also crop up again in the Multiverse Saga.

Deadpool & Wolverine RAction Sci-FiComedySuperhero

A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Director Shawn Levy Release Date July 26, 2024

Upcoming MCU Movies

• Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date February 14, 2025

• Thunderbolts*

  Release Date May 2, 2025

• The Fantastic Four (2025)

  Release Date July 25, 2025

• Blade (2025)

  Release Date November 7, 2025

• Avengers: Doomsday

  Release Date May 1, 2026

• Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date May 7, 2027

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Category: Entertainment