The Deadpool 3 trailer is finally here – and we might as well start calling Wade Wilson the Easter bunny from now on, as the titular hero treated us to a buttload of Easter eggs in the first look at the hotly anticipated sequel.
The movie, which is officially titled Deadpool & Wolverine, is set to officially usher Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox way back in March 2019. So it's hardly surprising that its teaser features plenty of MCU nods to confirm the crossover and delight franchise fans, including glimpses of the Avengers and a hint of what's to come in the Multiverse Saga as well.
In true Deadpool fashion, there's even a few meta gags thrown in that directly acknowledge the merger, too. "Pegging isn't new for me, friendo, but it is for Disney," Ryan Reynolds' Wade jokes at one point, as he gives a knowing look to the camera. Yeah, we're definitely not in youngster-friendly territory anymore...
Below, we break down the Super Bowl 2024 promo's most interesting Easter eggs, from comic book references and a potential villain reveal to Loki links and more. Keep scrolling to see what you might have missed in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer...
Loki
It's long been rumored that the Time Variance Authority, an organization introduced in the Disney Plus series Loki would appear in Deadpool 3, and the trailer confirmed the speculation.
Right at the start of the clip, Wade's birthday party is interrupted by a bunch of Time-Keepers before he's kidnapped and taken to the TVA headquarters. There, he's greeted by Matthew Macfadyen's mystery character Paradox, who suggests that the Regenerating Degenerate join the pantheon of heroes like Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America.
"I smell what you're stepping in, sensei," Wade replies enthusiastically. "Your little cinematic universe is about to change forever. I'm the messiah. I'm... Marvel Jesus."
Elsewhere, fans have argued that the dark smoke seen in the trailer at the 1:44 mark is Alioth, the trans-temporal entity – or smoke monster, if you're so inclined – that guarded the Citadel at the End of Time in Loki season 1. We first saw 'im when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) set out to confront He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors).
Emmy, anyone?
Last month, Ryan Reynolds' soccer centric documentary series Welcome to Wrexham won five Primetime Emmys, picking up gongs for Sound Mixing, Directing, and Best Unstructured Program. Unable to receive the awards himself, Reynolds had his pal Deadpool record an acceptance video that aired during the ceremony... and if you look closely in the Deadpool and Wolverine trailer, it can be seen playing on a screen at the TVA, too.
This isn't the first time the Deadpool series has confirmed the existence of Ryan Reynolds, the actor, though. In the Deadpool 2 post-credits scene, Wade travels back in time and kills Reynolds before he can sign on for the 2011 critical and commercial flop Green Lantern.
Cassandra Nova
It's hard to tell someone from the back of their head, but fans seem hellbent on trying to identify the mystery bald-headed person in the Deadpool 3 trailer. While some have already claimed it could be Professor X or even Nick Fury, we're backing the theory that it's Cassandra Nova, the former's evil, telepathic twin sister from the Marvel Comics.
We've yet to discover who The Crown star Emma Corrin is playing in the movie, and given the fact that they were seen sporting a buzzcut in July 2023, just two months after Deadpool and Wolverine first started filming, it kind of adds up.
Wolverine: Patch
Deadpool 3 being called Deadpool & Wolverine is a dead giveaway that the famous side-burned mutant is set to appear in the threequel, though we see very little of him in the first look.
He shows off his adamantium claws via a shadow right at the end of the clip but there's an earlier cameo from him that is perhaps more interesting, as his white suit references the Wolverine: Patch storyline from the comics. Technically, the blazer-sporting Wolverine is actually a darker alter-ego of the Logan we've met already.
Hulk's Thor: Ragnarok bed
This one is arguably the loosest Easter egg of the bunch, but it's still pretty fun so we've included it anyway. After Tom Wambsgans, we mean, Matthew Macfadyen tries to enlist Deadpool as a bonafide Avengers-style superhero, a montage sees the gun-toting wisecracker get up to all sorts. At one brief moment, he looks to be sitting near a piece of furniture with huge teeth, which is amusingly similar to Hulk's bed from Thor: Ragnarok.
Doctor Doom
Cassandra Nova, if the above does in fact turn out to be her, might not be Deadpool 3's only antagonist. Elsewhere in the trailer, we get a look at another adversary, and they're hooded, metal masked get-up has us wondering whether it could be Doctor Doom?
Chances are, if it were, they aren't likely to have shown him so obviously here but hey, stranger things have happened!
Pyro
Aaron Stanford reprises his role as fire-controlling mutant Pyro from Fox's original X-Men trilogy towards the end of the Deadpool 3 trailer, and his appearance seems to hint at more than just a fun cameo.
While the teaser gives little away in terms of plot, Pyro seems to be in some sort of dystopian, apocalyptic desert-scape. In scenes that boast a similar aesthetic, Deadpool can be seen fighting TVA officers in front of a fallen 20th Century Fox sign. Given the Loki tie-ins and a possible Alioth glimpse, could this wasteland be the The Void? In Loki, all those who are pruned from the Sacred Timeline get sent there, which seems ripe for a joke about how Disney essentially wiped the slate clean when they bought the X-Men rights from Fox and committed to only moving over certain, big-name characters into the MCU. Poor Pyro.
Secret Wars
While that might not actually be Doctor Doom in the trailer, we're pretty sure the movie will set him up as a major villain going forward. Why? Well, because right at the end of the promo, Deadpool is knocked to the ground next to a raggedy old comic. Said comic? 2015's Secret Wars #5.
The MCU's current chapter is titled the Multiverse Saga, and is set to conclude with in 2027 an Endgame-style outing currently dubbed Avengers: Secret Wars. In the source material, Doctor Doom plays a huge part in mashing up a bunch of timelines. With Kang out, might Victor von Doom be our next Thanos? We'll have to wait and see.
Deadpool and Wolverine releases in the UK on July 25, and in the US a day later. 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.
