Warning! This article contains spoilers for Loki as well as Deadpool and Wolverine. If you've yet to watch either, and don't want to know anything that happens, turn back now!
Earlier this year, Marvel fans were left in a panic when it was rumored that Deadpool and Wolverine would see the titular hero tasked with saving the Sacred Timeline. After Loki season 2 saw the God of Mischief commit to a lonely life of holding the timeline branches steady for seemingly the rest of time, viewers were worried the Merc with a Mouth's new movie would undercut the demi-god's epic, emotional sacrifice. (He is burdened by glorious purpose, after all).
Well, we're here to calm everyone down, as that's not really what the threequel is about. Though that doesn't make things any less complicated. With that, we break down Deadpool and Wolverine's initial set up below, as we dispel the idea that it retcons the aforementioned Disney Plus series... As Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman say in the trailers, let's f***ing go...
What IS Deadpool and Wolverine about?
Well, the set up to Deadpool 3 is this: Wade Wilson's universe on Earth-10005 – AKA the Fox's X-Men universe – is fading away, and it's all thanks to Logan's death. More on that later...
Matthew Macfadyen's Paradox, an agent who's seemingly gone rogue at the Time Variance Authority, is fed up of waiting for it to die slowly, so brings Wade into the TVA to offer him a spot on the Sacred Timeline – you know, the one with all the Avengers and stuff? – before it ceases to exist. You see, Paradox's plan involves using a Time Ripper, a new machine his superiors allegedly don't approve of, to snuff Wade's world out instantaneously, and he plans to use it 72 hours after his meeting with the Regenerating Degenerate. (If Paradox weren't to intervene, Wade's universe would have at least "a couple of thousand years" left, which would mean Vanessa, Peter, and co would be fine).
Despite his burning desire to rub red leather-clad shoulders with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Wade is, understandably, not too keen on the idea of his friends and family all being wiped out, so he punches Paradox in the face, steals a TemPad and sets off to find another Logan, who can replace the deceased Logan as Earth-10005's 'anchor being'.
What is an 'anchor being'?
In his Sacred Timeline pitch, Paradox explains that an 'anchor being' is "an entity of such vital importance" that their mere presence in whichever timeline they belong to stabilizes it. It's a multiverse concept, and when said being dies, their universe begins to slowly decay until it vanishes. When Logan passed away from his injuries in Logan (2017), it sent "shivers down the timeline" and he inadvertently set Earth-10005 on a ticking-down clock...
Perhaps He Who Remains was the Sacred Timeline's 'anchor being', which is why his death at the hands of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) results in their universe descending into chaos? That said, He Who Remains was all too aware of the influence he had on all timelines, whereas Logan seemingly wasn't aware of anything of the sort, so it could just as easily be a character like Doctor Strange, Iron Man, or someone we've not even been introduced to yet.
'Anchor beings' are not to be confused with 'nexus beings', those who are known to harness great power and be able to travel around the multiverse without assistant, like Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's America Chavez.
To save his world, Deadpool hops between timelines with the aim of pinching another Logan and forcing them to be Earth-10005's 'anchor being'. After encountering all sorts of Wolverine variants, from Weapon X to Patch, he finds Hugh Jackman's eponymous character and drags the drunken mutant back to the TVA.
Unfortunately for him, though, it's not quite as simple as that, and even if it was, he's only gone and enlisted the help of the "worst Wolverine" there is. According to Paradox, "this Wolverine let down his entire world". Oh dear.
So, Loki season 2 is still canon?
For now, it looks like Loki season 2 is still very much canon, given that the events of the Disney Plus series are happening on a completely separate timeline to the events of Deadpool and Wolverine.
"You do have to have respect for what's come before, and even if we might occasionally might be tempted to be lazy or dismissive of it, this is earned adoration and connection with a global fanbase," director Shawn Levy previously told GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film. "I won't claim that I had complete fluency, but I'd definitely watched some of Loki already and had really enjoyed it.
"Hugh, Ryan, and I have a shared reverence for Logan, and we have tremendous respect for that masterpiece of a movie, so we [were never] going to mess with that legacy. And yet Hugh wants in? How can we access Wolverine in a different way? The existence of the TVA, the way it'd already been set up via Loki, gave us huge opportunities. Specifically one episode in season 1 of Loki which takes the characters do The Void. That dimension was very useful to us and our story."
That said, it's worth noting that Paradox tells Wade twice that he's been "chosen for a higher purpose" and will, likely, one day be tasked with saving the Sacred Timeline. As Loki and Tom Hiddleston are so popular with Marvel fans, we weren't really expecting him to hold the timelines forever, but it'll be interesting to see how things go pear-shaped again later on, and how Deadpool will play a part in fixing things... again.
Deadpool and Wolverine is in UK cinemas now, and releases in the US on July 26. For more, check out all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way, as well as our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
