Deadpool & Wolverine aims to link the old Fox X-Men movies with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, the film surprisingly works well on its own, though its ending introduces some intriguing new ideas to the MCU.
Deadpool and Wolverine ending explained: What’s the Movie About?
The core of Deadpool & Wolverine involves a clever, meta twist: Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) faces the collapse of his timeline, which represents the old Fox X-Men universe. The film presents a scenario where the death of an “anchor” character causes a gradual breakdown of their entire timeline. In this case, the anchor character is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who died in Logan. This plot point cleverly nods to Disney’s acquisition of Fox and the end of that X-Men era.
The movie’s exploration of the Multiverse ties into the MCU’s Time Variance Authority (TVA), which was redefined after Loki Season 2. The TVA now aims to preserve timelines, but a rogue TVA agent named Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) still wants to maintain the “Sacred Timeline” and builds a machine to speed up the destruction of Wade’s world. Paradox believes that quickly erasing a timeline is more merciful than letting it fade away slowly.
To save his world, Wade comes up with a wild plan: find a new Wolverine from another timeline and bring him to Earth-10005. He ends up teaming up with a version of Logan who is far from a hero. This “worst Wolverine” comes from a timeline where mutants are hated because of his actions, and the X-Men died due to his failures. Together, they must step up, learn what it means to be a hero, and save the Multiverse.
In the movie’s climax, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) aims to destroy the entire Multiverse by using Paradox’s Time Ripper, enhanced with her powerful psychic abilities. Having been discarded by the TVA as a baby, she now rules in the Void and plans to make it the only remaining existence after destroying every other timeline.
Wade and Logan team up to sabotage the Time Ripper. They become channels for matter and antimatter, working together to overload the machine. Logan seeks redemption, while Wade is ready to sacrifice himself to save his loved ones. Their combined efforts cause the machine to explode, killing Cassandra.
Paradox tries to use the chaos to pin the blame on Cassandra, but both Deadpool and Wolverine survive their heroic act thanks to their willpower and healing abilities. TVA’s B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) discovers the truth, arrests Paradox, and praises the heroes. She also informs Wade and the new Wolverine that they’ve become the new anchors for Earth-10005, saving their timeline. Additionally, B-15 promises Wade she’ll look into reviving the Fox characters.
In the end, Wade invites the new Wolverine to stay in Earth-10005, where we see his friends enjoying a gathering in his flat. Dafne Keen’s X-23 is also present, indicating that B-15 kept her promise.
The film’s resolution offers exciting possibilities for the MCU. By establishing Wade’s timeline as a refuge for discontinued characters, Deadpool & Wolverine creates a space where Fox’s Marvel characters can continue to exist and develop. It also leaves the door open for these characters to join the main MCU timeline in the future. The involvement of TVA director B-15 further ties Wade’s world to the broader Multiverse seen in other MCU projects like Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
In summary, Deadpool & Wolverine delivers a satisfying conclusion to its story while paving the way for future connections with the broader MCU. The next step is seeing how Mutants will eventually join the Avengers in the main timeline.
