2024 has proven a trim year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with both screens big and small having little to offer from the franchise. Thankfully, the one and only theatrical outing for the year, Deadpool & Wolverine, doesn’t appear to take that status lightly. As evidenced by the film’s promotional material, Marvel fans are in for a wild, profanity-laden, Multiverse-exploring adventure with the Merc with a Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) and his not-so-close friend, if you can call him a friend at all, Logan (Hugh Jackman).
Overall, Deadpool & Wolverine contains a lot of moving parts. As noted previously, it’s a Multiverse story at its core, meaning that it will likely take audiences across different universes and beyond as the narrative unfolds. It’s also more of a formal introduction of the X-Men to the MCU after their existence has merely been hinted at previously. Not to mention, it appears to be a swan song for the 20th Century Fox X-Men franchise.
All of that is to say, for the casual viewer, Deadpool & Wolverine might appear pretty daunting, or even impenetrable at first glance. Luckily for you, true believer, wrapping your head around the upcoming feature isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think. All you need to do is check out a small handful of previous Marvel projects to get the most out of the story.
Obviously, you’ll want to watch the first two Deadpool movies
Though Deadpool & Wolverine is Deadpool’s first outing in the MCU, it’s certainly not his first solo movie. His first came in 2016 as the aptly-named Deadpool, with Deadpool 2 premiering two years later. Both films are violent, funny, emotional, and love to poke fun at the Marvel movie landscape, all while providing viewers with a pretty comic-accurate take on the lead character. Thus, they’re both enjoyable viewings for new and seasoned Marvel fans alike.
In terms of prep for Deadpool & Wolverine, the two Deadpool movies are essential. They give you a good idea of what to expect from Wade Wilson and his costumed anti-hero antics, and establish his corner of the universe. According to trailers for the movie, the likes of Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Peter (Rob Delaney), and more will appear and be central to Deadpool’s story as he seeks to save his perfect life from a tragic end. Skipping these will only make Deadpool & Wolverine more difficult to be emotionally invested in.
Loki Season 1 and Season 2 are musts for Multiverse knowledge
The MCU-Disney+ initiative has turned out to be a pretty mixed bag since WandaVision kicked it off in 2021. Some shows are widely-criticized, while others are applauded by virtually all MCU fans. A title that falls into the latter category is Loki, where the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) himself is tasked with not only saving the Multiverse, but coming to terms with the truth of his glorious purpose. It’s dramatic, action-packed, a real tear-jerker at times, and evidence that MCU is and can continue to be great going forward.
Multiple projects have dealt with the Multiverse concept throughout the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, but not all are necessary viewing to understand it. On the whole, Loki does the best job of explaining it and depicting its many complicated ideas. It puts the spotlight on the Time Variance Authority as well, thoroughly going over their role in the maintenance of the timestream. Seeing as the Multiverse and the TVA have a prominent role in Deadpool & Wolverine, giving the two Loki seasons a watch ahead of the film is in your best interest. As mentioned, too, the show is tremendous and worth binging anyway.
The Wolverine trilogy, maybe
Despite being one of the most popular comic book character movie castings of all time, Jackman’s Wolverine doesn’t have the greatest trilogy. X-Men Origins: Wolverine from 2009 was a big swing-and-a-miss, turning in a bloated story with poor CGI and misguided attempts at adapting X-Men comic favorites. 2013’s The Wolverine stepped things up, but is often overlooked. Then came 2017’s Logan, which remains regarded among the greatest comic book movies ever. These movies are only loosely connected narratively, making the overall trilogy a somewhat disjointed watch.
So, is Wolverine’s trilogy a needed watch before Deadpool & Wolverine? On the one hand, yes. It puts Jackman’s Wolverine on full display in a range of settings, creating depth and complexity for the character. Some of the movies and moments from them are solid watches to boot. Still, it’s unknown if the Wolverine of Deadpool & Wolverine is even from the Fox universe, so in terms of backstory, this trilogy might be entirely useless. It might be best to consider it optional.
What about the X-Men movies?
If it wasn’t for Fox’s X-Men saga, odds are the MCU wouldn’t be what it is today. 2000’s X-Men was a game-changer, showing that superheroes could be brought to live-action effectively and find success with general audiences. While subsequent films didn’t always maintain that mark of quality, there are enough successes within the franchise for it to be regarded as a triumph. Decades later, nostalgia for these movies has kicked in heavily, hence why Deadpool & Wolverine is giving the Fox films and their actors one last chance to shine.
Which X-Men movies should you watch ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine though? Considering the presence of Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) and Toad (Ray Park), X-Men is likely a good choice, as are X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand bearing in mind Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) and Pyro’s (Aaron Stanford) inclusions. Azazel (Jason Flemyng) makes an appearance as well, so put X-Men: First Class on the watchlist. Otherwise, the rest might be skippable, at least when taking into account what Deadpool & Wolverine‘s teasers have shown off. Perhaps we’ll be proven wrong once the film releases on July 26.
