What to watch before Deadpool & Wolverine

Marvel’s first and only MCU cinematic entry in 2024 is a mighty curious story. Deadpool & Wolverine joins the Merc with a Mouth with his superhero crush, which in and of itself makes for a momentous occasion. But it’s also the first time Deadpool is being brought into the MCU, with all of his R-rated antics and meta commentary tendencies.

Disney creatives and execs have really been trying to convince audiences that homework is not required for the MCU movies as they look to alleviate any superhero fatigue. Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy specifically stated that you don’t need to prepare in any way to enjoy this film. I’m inclined to believe him to an extent, but surely maximum enjoyment comes with some amount of preparation. MCU films are built on what has come before, and Deadpool himself is simultaneously a participant in, and observer of, pop culture. All of that means you can take Levy’s advice, or you can do some prep to make sure you understand all the winks, nods, references, and asides.

Here’s what you should watch before seeing Deadpool and Wolverine.

X-Men

Wolverine’s first look

This iconic film ushered in a new era of superhero stories, introduced audiences to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and generally did a good job of capturing the essence of the famed comic book characters, even if some of the dialogue and effects were a bit cheesy. The story is simple: a bunch of mutants want to stop another group of mutants from turning all humans into mutants. It’s not as good as other stories at dissecting humanity’s fear of The Other, but it’s a worthy starting point for a problem that’s continuously, and rightfully, explored.

There are a lot of characters, but we get a pretty good sense of Wolverine, including his strong independent streak and overall annoyance at most people and things. It’s a great starting point for those looking to understand at least one facet of the gruff hero, and for cinephiles looking to trace back the roots of the 21st century superhero bonanza. And when you’re watching, consider the many, many other actors who were approached to play Wolverine before Jackman; that would make for an interesting episode of What If.

X-2

Bigger and better sequel

The success of X-Men naturally led to a sequel, one with a bigger budget, more characters, and quite a bit more Wolverine. The story follows a military operative as he seeks to “cure” mutants, and it does the fun thing where foes in the previous film are forced to unite in ways that are dramatic and amusing.

X2 works well by dispensing exposition and moving at a rapid, exciting clip, with thrilling action sequences and increased tension. It also rounds out Logan a lot more, exploring sides of him that continue to pop up in later films, especially when it comes to how he interacts with younger, often annoying and idealistic mutants. He’s most interesting when he’s forced to soften his heart and act in a leadership role he’d rather not take on, but knows he has to.

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine

When Logan met Deadpool

I’m going to skip to Logan’s prequel standalone film as it’s hard to imagine that the generally revealed X-Men:The Last Stand is worth a watch or will get a mention in Deadpool & Wolverine. In part because it was plagued by behind-the-set issues, boasts a now disgraced director, and was eventually retconned by X-Men: Day of Future Past.

This film isn’t particularly good either, but it did try. I imagine the hope here was simply to spin off as many X-Men heroes as possibly in their own films before having more Avengers-style ensemble movies, but the first attempt at a prequel didn’t quite land. Despite a big budget and a decent return, this film was poorly received, and fans were particularly critical of its portrayal of Deadpool, who was played by Ryan Reynolds in a way that is wholly unrecognizable to the current character we all know and love.

This version is nowhere near the same as the one he created for his own franchise, and he already poked fun at this attempt in Deadpool 2, so it’s not clear how much, if any, of this film might be referenced in Deadpool & Wolverine. Still, it is the first time the two title characters meet in a movie playing these characters, even if the version of the characters in the MCU movie will be quite different. It’s also a testament to the spirit of these two actors, who are passionate about their roles and strive to make something audiences love. It wasn’t in this movie, but they both found success when they tried again with these heroes.

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The Wolverine

A standalone story

I’m going to skip ahead again, as I also don’t think X-Men: First Class is worth a revisit. At the time, it was fun and refreshing, but it only offers a brief Wolverine cameo and doesn’t really establish much that’s generally unknown about the mutant relationships. It also feels incredibly dated, particularly the casually sexist and racist ways in which it deals with female characters and people of color, with a heavy dose of the male gaze in a movie mainly populated by white men.

Instead, jump to The Wolverine, which sends Logan to Japan for a small yet compelling story that focuses heavily on how his mutant powers are also a curse. It reminds audiences of his painful past while also providing some compelling action pieces. It does a familiar thing in the third act that many superhero films do (where the hero fights an enemy who more or less has the same powers), but it’s more than a worthy rewatch. You can start to see some of the ideas that James Magnold would later explore in Logan.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past

Sort of like the Avengers

X-Men: Days of Future Past sees Bryan Singer, director of X-Men and X:2 return to weave a complex story about time travel that pairs young mutants with older versions from the OG trilogy, and notably features plenty of Wolverine. It’s a good primer for dealing with timelines and offers a good representation of a slew of characters (and it reverses some of the questionable decisions from The Last Stand).

Based on a popular comic book storyline, it finds mutants in a desolate future where they are prisoners of humanity, trying to reverse the course of history by traveling to the past. Professor X pinpoints a pivotal moment in time that needs to be altered in order to avoid their apocalyptic present, sort of like Back to the Future. It’s entertaining and ambitious, if not a little sloppy and trite at times, but with so many characters and plot points, it could be a vital resource in preparation for Deadpool & Wolverine.

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Deadpool

A underdog love story

Of all the films on the list, this one is required viewing. Reynold’s passion project comes to life, and it is met with tremendous fanfare and success. Deadpool is a stellar example of what can be done by dedicated and resourceful creatives and how studio executives tend to have no idea what’s good. Test footage was leaked that helped bring this movie to life (and a lot of sacrifice and gambling on the part of Reynolds), but this violent, snarky, R-rated romp won over a lot of fans with its action, humor, and inventiveness.

It introduces a more faithful vision of Deadpool, successfully blending blood, sarcasm, and charm while also effectively breaking the fourth wall. Reynold’s Wade Wilson is a likable and sympathetic jerk, and the tightrope he perfectly walks made Deadpool so wildly popular and destined for much more screen time.

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Logan

A worthy send-off

Logan is a terrific film based on a simple calculation: What if we made The Last of Us into a movie, but it was with Wolverine? What was for a long time held as Jackman’s final bow as the famed mutant, Logan finds an aged and exhausted hero tasked with protecting a young girl with special abilities in settings that can be generously described as desolate (yes the film is based on a comics’ storyline, but the Last of Us parallels are real).

It’s a dark, gritty, and intense film, making it a significant departure from previous X-Men films but one very rooted in modern times. It’s the film Jackman was so proud of that he almost wrote off ever playing Wolverine again. So, while it’s his most recent turn as the hero, it’s also one that might not at all be referenced in the new film, mainly because Logan was so well lauded that those involved in Deadpool & Wolverine are adamant they won’t interfere with it whatsoever.

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Deadpool 2

A celebration of excess

Of course, a Deadpool sequel quickly came along with a bigger budget, more characters, and maybe just a bit too much self-awareness. Just how crucial this film is to Deadpool & Wolverine remains to be seen, but it’s definitely worth exploring (or revisiting) as it signals the potential that can be achieved with more resources but also the pressure that comes with repeating past success.

Deadpool 2 is a good movie, featuring the popular time-traveling mutant Cable as a villain-turned-ally, but it evokes so many other sequels to films that weren’t expected to be successes. It is fun but wildly excessive, with a plethora of cameos, an onslaught of meta commentary, a bunch of post-credit scenes, and a lot of sass and snark. And despite double the budget, the film earned just about the same amount of money as the first.

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Loki – Season 1

The God of Mischief meets the TVA

The first season of Loki did a lot of heavy lifting for the MCU, and generally pulled it off well. The main reason it’s worth checking out ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine is that it establishes the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucracy outside of time and space that tends to multiversal timelines and generally tries to keep everything in order (or at least that’s what they think).

The TVA plays a central role in the upcoming MCU entry, and generally understanding what it’s doing, or thinks it is doing, seems like helpful preparation. There’s a lot of exposition, but the proceedings of the first season of Loki seem like foundational knowledge that serves to understand the role the multiverse will continue to play in the MCU.

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Maximum Effort

Anything can happen

20th Century Fox

Based on some reveals in the trailer, knowing the TVA is involved, and the fact that Deadpool enjoys breaking the fourth wall again and again, it sure looks like he will be checking out some older MCU titles in one way or another. It looks like he will be popping in on an iconic scene from Captain America: Civil War, so maybe in order to enjoy that scene you need to watch that movie. Of course, to enjoy that movie means seeing anywhere between five and ten previous MCU films. And if you’re going to watch Civil War, then surely you’ll want to revisit Infinity War and Endgame, among others, to see how that story transpires. At that point then, you’re basically just rewatching the entire Infinity Saga.

It gets out of hand quickly.

But wait, there’s more. Reynolds has previously used the Deadpool movies to poke fun at his other, well, less successful superhero attempts, including his go at Green Lantern. Would Reynolds go so far back to mock his appearance as Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, a very poorly-received Marvel superhero film from 2004? Maybe.

Also, this isn’t the first time Levy and Reynolds are pairing up for a Disney film (or rather, what’s ended up as a Disney film). Their partnership in Free Guy is filled with Disney references and IP that were allowed once the company acquired Fox, including a moment where Reynolds’ character wields Captain America’s shield. Is Free Guy, a movie where Jackman also has a brief cameo, going to be referenced in Deadpool & Wolverine? Probably not, but maybe. There’s also a lot of chatter around Jennifer Garner reprising her role as Elektra, which was first seen on screen in 2003’s Daredevil. It’s hard to imagine there’s a lot you need to know from that campy film that feels very much of its time (Garner and Reynolds starred together in 2022’s The Adam Project on Netflix also directed by Levy, so maybe you need to watch that too).

I do believe Levy and company when they say homework is not required. There is no way a movie with such high stakes is going to ask its audiences to put in so much time watching a bunch of old movies, especially as the film is made to integrate new characters into the MCU and sort of set a new foundation from which to move forward.

However, these movies also aim to reward dedicated fans. And, as Marvel has shown in the past, they also want to try to “fix” some of the less successful stories and make them a bit more relevant, if not better. So if you have the time, consume as much as possible, and prepare for a film that should at the very least be a fun, if not pivotal, story in the MCU, and one that will certainly appease the hard-working viewer.

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