Hugh Jackman's return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3 is the strongest proof yet that Fox's X-Men movies aren't dead after all and live on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse. Jackman and Ryan Reynolds announced Logan's comeback in Deadpool 3, which also marks the Merc With A Mouth's debut in the MCU. Both Wolverine and Deadpool were signature characters of Fox's X-Men franchise before the studio and its characters were purchased by Disney.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The X-Men movies' success helped make the MCU possible. Fox's X-Men, X2: X-Men: United, and X-Men: The Last Stand were all box office hits, in spite of the varying quality of the films by directors Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner. Wolverine also received three spinoff solo films of wildly varying quality, but Jackman's (then-final) 2017 outing, Logan, ranks among the best of the X-Men films. Starting with 2011's X-Men: First Class, the main mutant saga rebooted its own timeline to recast most of its mutants with younger actors in X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix – again, all films of varying quality. Meanwhile, Ryan Reynolds delivered a box office hit and crowd pleaser with Deadpool in 2016, along with the 2018 sequel, Deadpool 2. When Disney bought Fox, Deadpool was confirmed to join the MCU proper, although it's taken years to sort out the hows and whys (i.e. just add Jackman's Wolverine).
Disney's absorption of Fox signaled that the X-Men would be rebooted for the MCU, and this will likely eventually happen, although nothing concrete has been announced in terms of Marvel Studio's ultimate plans for the mutants. Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have opened the door to the Multiverse while Ms. Marvel unexpectedly set up the existence of mutants in the MCU. Indeed, No Way Home honoring the existence of Sony's different Spider-Man characters was good news for Fox's X-Men. Rather than moviedom's original mutants being wiped out of existence or Disney denying those movies exist, it's looking more and more like Fox's X-Men aren't just not dead but have a place of their own in the MCU Multiverse.
How Wolverine Will Join The MCU In Deadpool 3 (Despite Being Dead)
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman already teamed up to hilariously explain how Wolverine can be in Deadpool 3 despite dying in Logan. It's actually a simple solution: Logan's death took place in 2029 and Deadpool 3 will leave that alone. There's also the convenient matter that the X-Men movie timeline was so fractured and self-contradictory that Logan likely happened in an alternate timeline anyway. Therefore, a different version of the Wolverine can be the one who pops his claws in Deadpool 3. The truly important thing isn't which incarnation of Wolverine makes his MCU debut but that it's Hugh Jackman portraying his iconic character "one last time," thus cementing his Logan as part of the MCU.
The Fox X-Men Movies Happened In The MCU Multiverse
Disney+ adding most of the Fox X-Men movies, including Deadpool and Deadpool 2, to the streaming service under the banner of Marvel Legacy Movies was a nod to their potential relevance to the MCU. But it was really Spider-Man: No Way Home's acknowledgment of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films that signaled the same would eventually be afforded to Fox's X-Men movies. Wolverine joining Deadpool 3 tacitly confirms the X-Men movies happened in the MCU's Multiverse regardless of which version of Logan actually shows up to fight Wade Wilson.
The jury is out on whether any other actors from the Fox X-Men movies will reprise their roles in the MCU down the line. Right now, Marvel Studios seems to be banking on Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart's Professor X as two of the most well-known X-Men characters. Perhaps Ian McKellan's Magneto will also appear in the future, or James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender's younger versions of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr. Still, the strongest possible signal that Fox X-Men are part of the MCU proper is Hugh Jackman coming back as Wolverine, since he is one of the most iconic actor/superhero portrayals in superhero movie history and Logan is synonymous with the X-Men.
There Are Also Different Versions of Fox's X-Men In The MCU Multiverse
So, not only are Fox's X-Men movies part of the MCU Multiverse but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness confirmed that there are still other versions of the X-Men in existence across the various alternate realities. The version of Professor X that Patrick Stewart played in Doctor Strange's sequel doesn't seem to be the same one he played in the prior X-Men movies. Stewart's original Charles Xavier died in X-Men: The Last Stand, although that version may have been reincarnated and returned in the post-credits scene of The Wolverine to set up X-Men: Days of the Future Past. It could also be a different version of Professor X who died in Logan.
Regardless, the Charles Xavier who was part of the Illuminati in Multiverse of Madness did what Professor X does in the X-Men movies and died at the hands of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). And even then, it's a simple matter to pluck a different Professor X out of a different alternate timeline if the MCU wants Patrick Stewart back at some point. The X-Men movies still have legions of fans who grew up with the mutant franchise, especially Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. The MCU Multiverse keeps all the mutants alive in some form in case Marvel Studios wants to bring any of the original X-Men back after Deadpool 3.