Deadpool & Wolverine brought the iconic Marvel antihero to the big screen for the MCU for the first time - but the character actually made a debut in the franchise before the film. Deadpool & Wolverine's star-studded cameos and talented cast combined with its engaging story to make the movie one of the biggest in the MCU timeline, breaking the billion dollar box office mark for the franchise one more. With Deadpool & Wolverine having become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, its significance in the superhero genre is clear, with the film being lauded for bringing Deadpool into the MCU.
Image Made By Zoe Miskelly
While this is true in terms of cinema releases, it's worth noting that Deadpool made a cameo in the MCU before this point in time. However, it's one that even big MCU fans may struggle to find, though that detail only serves to make it more interesting. This is especially true given the pre-Deadpool & Wolverine cameo has direct links to the 2024 Marvel movie itself.
Deadpool Appeared In The MCU In What If? An Immersive Story Before Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool Appears In One Ending Of The What If? VR Story
Prior to Deadpool & Wolverine's release, the iconic Marvel antihero actually appeared in the MCU's What If? An Immersive Story. The release is a Disney+ Original story that can be experienced through VR - specifically, on Apple Vision Pro, meaning fewer have seen the storyline than the rest of the Disney+ What If...? series due to its specific requirements.
Deadpool appears in one of the endings of What If? An Immersive Story, which sees the Time Variance Authority mascot and semi-terrifying anthropomorphic clock Miss Minutes appear to recruit you into the group and allow you to continue existing. During this sequence, Miss Minutes introduces the viewer to their "new co-worker", who is none other than Deadpool - and who breaks into a short monologue about what to expect while working together, which is loaded with the antihero's conventional charged comedy.
Deadpool's What If? Debut Teased His MCU Movie Story
Deadpool's What If? Cameo Is Seemingly In Deadpool & Wolverine's TVA Office
Interestingly, this What If? An Immersive Story cameo is in live-action, and appears to be set in Deadpool & Wolverine's own TVA base. This makes things especially noteworthy, as while the Deadpool & Wolverine trailers had already teased this location, the decision ties Ryan Reynolds' character even further into the MCU.
The fact that What If? An Immersive Story has Reynolds' Deadpool as the viewer's TVA co-worker gives the installment direct parallels with Deadpool & Wolverine, where Mr. Paradox initially attempts to recruit Wade Wilson to his subsection of the TVA, only for Deadpool to turn against him when he discovers the agent is trying to accelerate the destruction of the antihero's home universe. At the end of the movie, Deadpool is commended for his efforts to save Earth-10005 by TVA agent Hunter B-15, and Paradox is taken away for his illegal tampering with the timelines.
As such, while the What If? An Immersive Story Deadpool and movie Deadpool initially seem somewhat different, Deadpool & Wolverine ending with the prospect of Deadpool working alongside the TVA in the future suggests these two iterations of the character could well be one and the same. This could be especially promising for the character's future, as it would allow him to lean even further into the meta comments and jokes that Deadpool has long been known for.
Deadpool's What If? Cameo Makes Deadpool & Wolverine Even Better
Deadpool's Cameo Brings Him Further Into The MCU
Deadpool & Wolverine certainly crosses over with the MCU, but it does so in a more downplayed way than may have previously been expected. Chris Hemsworth's Thor has a cameo, but only on one of the TVA screens in archival footage, and Chris Evans' appearance sees him play the Human Torch, not Steve Rogers. As such, having Deadpool crossover into the overarching MCU lore - even if it is in a release that's less well-known - still helps to ensure the character is incorporated into the overall framework of the larger franchise.
This also assists in the process of finding the right tone for adding Deadpool into the MCU for prospective future appearances after Deadpool & Wolverine, as the inherently R-rated shenanigans of the antihero are relatively absent here, even if Wade does attempt to solicit a tryst with the viewer. Being able to test how to use Deadpool without either watering him down completely or becoming R-rated is something that could well come in handy as the main MCU timeline continues, as a return from Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars will need to strike a careful balance.
