At this point in time, nobody can deny that Avengers: Endgame still seems to be the pinnacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only was the climactic superhero team-up movie entertaining for both the die-hard comic book fan and the casual moviegoer audience, but the final film of phase 3 also set records both domestically and internationally, surpassing (for a brief time) James Cameron’s Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time and had the highest grossing opening weekend in both the US and Canada (these are only a few of the accolades as well). Since then, things have taken a less fortunate turn, and the entirety of Marvel Studios has had a very tumultuous affair with box office results and production woes.
Disregarding any titles that have been released on Disney+ since that moment in time and only focusing on full-fledged features, there have certainly been more failures than successes within the Disney-owned universe. Pandemic woes or not, only about a third of these releases have found steady footing when it comes to audience reception and critic reviews.
Besides the two Spider-Man releases and the touching sequel to Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, the new Multiverse saga has been touch and go. Not only that, but it seems like Jonathan Majors’ (who is being set up to be the next big bad after Thanos) has shaken his once-thriving relationship with Marvel after his recent legal troubles.
With James Gunn finishing up his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and leaving altogether to head the revitalized DCU, there doesn’t seem to be a flagship property that can bring momentum once again to the once seemingly invincible brand. That was until the many rumors about the much anticipated Deadpool 3 started rolling in.
From a coveted vampire hunter making a comeback after almost twenty years to a controversial X-Men story arc being adapted, let’s take a look at how the Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman starring Deadpool 3 can be the rebirth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oh yeah, Wolverine is here too, and that’s been confirmed for a while already.
A Perfect Fit For Blade
Channing Tatum as Gambit. Ben Affleck as a variant of Daredevil. Taylor Swift as Dazzler. Even though any of those appearances would certainly be scenes to remember, these heavy-weighted pieces of hero hearsay are most likely not going to come to fruition. On the other hand, Marvel’s Blade has also been circulating in the hive mind as a possible candidate to make a cameo in this multiversal escapade. Be it a new actor stepping into the role of the darker and grittier character or Wesley Snipes bringing the name to life once more, it’s something we all want to see.
Introduced through a trilogy of movies that ultimately slowed down to bringing in mediocre results at the box office in the mid-2000s, the character’s reboot that was being headed by Marvel Studios has been pushed back for multiple reasons numerous times. Fans still crave his long-awaited return on the big screen. This could be a great chance for Marvel Studios to show that they actually do listen to fans regarding character preference. Imagine the theater’s bated breath as Blade and Wolverine face each other upon their first meeting.
Deadpool and an Eater of Worlds
20th Century Fox
Just two weeks ago, a picture was sent out on Twitter by media scooper Syl Abdul, which seems to show a startling set picture regarding Deadpool 3. With a dry desert-like landscape as the backdrop, a monstrous old-school 20th Century Fox placard is crumbling behind the shooting scene and withering into the ground.
While meta shenanigans like this obviously go hand in hand with a Wade Wilson reality-hopping film, fans who remember which heroes came out of that film studio have exciting thoughts about what’s coming.
Not only are there the headlined characters from The X-Men and The Fantastic Four franchises up for grabs, but there are also many more world-expanding forces who could come into play at some point, like Galactus and Silver Surfer (who we have already seen on screen), Annihilus, The X-Force and The New Mutants. Once there is even the slightest confirmatory word of Deadpool and his company taking on the faces from the past, tickets will be gone overnight. . . that is, once they are available.
Jean Grey vs. Scarlet Witch Will Sell Tickets
Marvel Studios
Speaking of former Marvel characters owned by Fox, our first taste of those two cinematic universes coming to clash was teased in 2021’s Wandavision when Evan Peters, who was in the latter’s X-Men movies, parodied Quicksilver during the Halloween sequence of the show.
While this was just a cheeky joke that came and went, one of the strongest allegations to come out of Deadpool 3‘s supposed plot is a much more impactful showdown. Adapting parts of a 2005 comic arc called House of M in which Scarlet Witch and her father Magneto rule the Illuminati (who we have already seen in the Doctor Strange sequel), the movie would use the abilities from the TVA to catapult various X-Men characters who are engulfed in this fight straight into our Earth (Earth-616).
Considering Wanda Maximoff was already used to tease the Fox universe, she would also be the perfect herald to complete the sequence. Bringing so many forgotten faces from yesteryear forward and into the present world of Thor and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would be as viral as when Tobey Macguire and Andrew Garfield came to be in No Way Home.
Trying to corral all the possibilities that can take place in the upcoming Phase 5 MCU movie is just impossible. In saying that, though, there are plenty of ways through this film alone that comic book fans can once again rekindle with the MCU before it is too late. We’ll have to wait and see what happens when Deadpool 3 releases on May 3, 2024
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
