Marvel fans think they know what's going on with Deadpool 3's Wolverine thanks to X-Men '97

With Deadpool 3's release date looming, and its plot still very much under wraps, Marvel fans have resorted to conjuring up all sorts of fan theories about the Merc with a Mouth's threequel. The latest, it seems, regards Wolverine and Disney Plus's X-Men '97. 

Turns out, viewers of the animated series think it might wind up explaining what's going on with Hugh Jackman's broken mutant in Deadpool and Wolverine, who – given our Wolverine's death in Logan – is likely to be a variant from an alternate universe.

The trailers we've seen for the movie so far have been vague, but they seem to hint at a tragic backstory for the character, as Wade Wilson asks him in one: "Is that what you said when your world went to shit?" "Trust me kid, I'm no hero," a solemn Wolverine says in another scene, while one more shows him falling to his knees in some sort of barren land. 

Taking to Reddit recently, one fan suggested that the "unknown incident" he's so beat-up about will be the Genosha's massacre, an event from the comics that saw the island attacked by Wild Sentinels. Later described as the worst act of genocide in all of mutant history, it's believed that a total of 16,521,618 mutants lost their lives; thus, the mutant population of Earth was reduced by over 94%.

"The Beast believes that the incident in Genosha from episode 5 is an "absolute point" [in the timeline], which has been explained in "Mythics of Kamar Taj", like we had seen in What If...? episode in which Strange tries to turn the same but it only leads to his world's end," AmusinglyArtistic wrote. 

"Of course there's Morph line that Wolverine again would be the "only survivor at the end of utopia", they continued. "Maybe this Wolverine was that."

"If it is Genosha I honestly find that GENIUS," someone replied. "We see it in X-Men '97, then a live action world left in the wake of it… then when we get it from start to finish in the MCU years from now there will be this sense of dread over the audience knowing what's coming. It'll hit so hard."

"I definitely felt that vibe, from that dialogue as well," commented one more. "If that is the case, this Logan would be the one from [the animated series]. I'm curious if the journey within Deadpool & Wolverine will lead into that "happy ending". Logan returns home. Whatever the outcome."

Not everyone is down with the theory, though...

"The creators of the series have said it does not tie into the MCU," argued a doubter. "Was that a feint along the lines of 'but that doesn’t mean the universe it does exist in won’t come up in the new multiversal MCU?'"

"I don't think we're going to see what happened in Genosha play out on the big screen just yet," said another. "Spoilers for Old Man Logan but In the book, Wolverine kills all of the X-Men. He's tricked by Mysterio into thinking a bunch of villains have invaded the X-Mansion. Wolverine goes nuts and kills all of them. But the rug is pulled out from under him. He makes a vow to himself to never pop his claws again. And doesn't for almost 40 years or so, until the events of the book play out."

"This can be true," replied the original user. "Although I don't think that Mysterio will be here since Sony has the rights or else I wouldn't have minded seeing him here. Maybe Cassandra Nova?"

While it's not been officially confirmed Emma Corrin's baldheaded baddie in the movie will be Cassandra Nova, it's been widely assumed that it is thanks to a copyright document. Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Shioli Kutsuna, Rob Delaney, and Matthew Macfadyen round out the supporting cast.

Deadpool and Wolverine lands in UK cinemas on July 25, and in the US a day later. X-Men '97 is streaming on Disney Plus now. 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.