Deadpool & Wolverine is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the sequel to Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). The film was directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay he wrote with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells. Reynolds and Hugh Jackman respectively star as Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine, alongside Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen. In the film, Deadpool works with a reluctant Wolverine from another universe to stop the Time Variance Authority (TVA) from destroying his own universe.
Development on a third Deadpool film began at 20th Century Fox by November 2016, but was moved to Marvel Studios when Fox was acquired by Disney in March 2019. Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin joined in November 2020 as writers. Levy was hired to direct in March 2022, when Reese and Wernick returned from the previous films for rewrites. The creative team had difficulty settling on a story until Jackman decided to reprise his role as Wolverine from Fox's X-Men film series in August 2022. Several other actors from the X-Men films and other Marvel productions also returned as part of the film's multiverse story, which serves as a tribute to Fox's Marvel films. Filming began in May 2023, taking place at Pinewood Studios, Bovingdon Studios, and Norfolk in England as well as Los Angeles. Production was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming resumed in November and wrapped in January 2024. The title was revealed a month later. The film's soundtrack features an original score by Rob Simonsen and numerous existing songs, including Madonna's "Like a Prayer" for key sequences. Deadpool & Wolverine is the first R-rated MCU film, retaining that rating from the prior Deadpool films.
Deadpool & Wolverine premiered on July 22, 2024, at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City, and was released in the United States on July 26 as part of Phase Five of the MCU. Critics praised Reynolds and Jackman's performances as well as the humor, but were less positive about the film overall. It grossed $1.338 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, the second-highest-grossing film of 2024, and the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time. The film received various accolades.
