Wade Wilson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In both timelines, Wade possesses a facetiously self-aware sense of humor that disorients and annoys his enemies. He regularly insults and belittles his enemies in light and humorous ways. He has no sense of shame, and can find the humor in any situation, even after months of continuous torture and being shaken by his subsequent transformation. Only a few select people can withstand his seemingly endless talking, resulting in his mouth being sewn shut in the final act of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Ajax also threatens to sew Wade's mouth shut in Deadpool when Wade is undergoing (unconventional) cancer treatment because of his nonstop talking. In the original timeline, Wade's sense of humor is derived from the comics. His personality is significantly more fleshed out in the new timeline. He loves cartoons, potty humor, Skee-Ball, classical music, television shows, rap music, and American pop culture. His favorite band is Wham! and George Michael, specifically, the song "Careless Whisper." He remains very movie-cultured, referencing The Matrix, RoboCop, Alien 3, Yentl, 127 Hours, Cocoon, Star Wars, Green Lantern (which also stars Ryan Reynolds), and even X-Men: Days of Future Past. Like his comics counterpart, Wade himself is aware that he is a fictional character and makes fun of this by breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience. In Deadpool 2, when his autograph is requested by a fan, he signs it "Ryan Reynolds." Despite his initial immaturity, Wade is a genuine, kind, good-hearted man, and in time becomes ethical and heroic to the point of sacrificing himself to save the mutant Russell Collins. Although he is a mercenary, he agreed to scare off a young girl's stalker without being paid for his troubles, revealing he can be compassionate. On matters of love, he can be sensitive, feeling forced to abandon his girlfriend, Vanessa because of his terminal cancer. He advises his taxi driver, Dopinder, to fight for the object of his affections, Gita. After Vanessa's death, Wade begins to develop a death wish, yet his inability to die further imbalances his already fractured psyche. He is content to die of cancer in the Icebox until he finds a new purpose in protecting Russell from Cable. After his near-death experience, he still has not accepted Vanessa's demise, so he uses Cable's time travel device to save her.

In Their Own Story

After the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company was announced in December 2017 and completed in March 2019, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Deadpool would be integrated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) under Disney, and that the company would be willing to make future R-rated Deadpool films "as long as we let the audiences know what's coming." The Once Upon a Deadpool version of the film was being watched carefully by Disney and Marvel Studios to see whether it might inform how they could approach the character and integrate him into the PG-13 MCU. In October 2019, Reese and Wernick said that they had a script in development, but were waiting for approval from Marvel Studios to begin production on the third film. Reese said, "[Deadpool] will live in the R-rated universe that we've created, and hopefully we'll be allowed to play a little bit in the MCU sandbox as well and incorporate him into that." In December 2019, Reynolds confirmed that a third Deadpool film was in development at Marvel Studios, which was confirmed by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige in January 2021, with Reynolds reprising his role. The film retained the R-rating of the prior films and is set in the MCU. Feige described Wilson as a "very different type of character" in the MCU. In March 2022, Shawn Levy was revealed as the film's director after previously collaborating with Reynolds on Free Guy (2021) and The Adam Project (2022), while Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick rewrote the Molyneux sisters' screenplay, reprising their duties from the first two Deadpool films. Filming began in May 2023. Reynolds also produced the film alongside Kevin Feige through his production company Maximum Effort. In May 2022, screenwriter Michael Waldron confirmed in an interview that there had been discussions within Marvel regarding Reynolds making a cameo appearance as Deadpool in the multiverse-focused film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), as he himself felt "[it] would've been crazy to not raise that" after the inclusions of other X-Men related elements in the film such as the Savage Land and the character Professor Charles Xa.

Reader's Guide

Wade Wilson is a tragic figure wrapped in layers of irony and violence. His role as an anti-hero allows him to operate outside the strict moral codes of traditional heroes, often using lethal force to achieve his goals while maintaining a comedic facade. His primary power is an accelerated healing factor that makes him virtually immortal, allowing him to recover from almost any injury instantly. This power also grants him superhuman strength and agility, though he relies heavily on his extensive training in martial arts and swordsmanship to survive battles. Throughout his journey, Wade struggles with the psychological toll of his condition and his past as a soldier. His defining moments often involve choosing between doing what is easy and doing what is right, usually resulting in him sacrificing himself for others only to return later with a new quip.

Did You Know?

• Deadpool's name comes from a local dive bar's gambling system, not from any comic book origin.
• In Deadpool 2, when a fan asks for his autograph, he signs it 'Ryan Reynolds.'
• Reynolds gained 7 pounds of lean muscle for the role, working with trainer Don Saladino.
• The test footage that helped green-light the first Deadpool film was leaked in 2014, and Reynolds attributed Fox's green-lighting entirely to that leak.
• In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Deadpool's mouth is sewn shut in the final act.