The Deadpool & Wolverine Trailer Teases A Gruesome Fate For A Beloved MCU Hero
Just like a prayer, the latest trailer for the highly anticipated "Deadpool & Wolverine" arrived this morning, showing off even more of Wade Wilson's first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If bringing the R-rated Merc with a Mouth into the Marvel Studios world wasn't enough, with all the naughtiness that entails, surely Hugh Jackman picking up Wolverine's claws again will seal the deal.
Of course, since "Deadpool & Wolverine" is bringing the characters from 20th Century Fox's universe of Marvel movies into the MCU, there are even more recognizable faces who will be popping up. Along with reports of Jennifer Garner reprising her role as Elektra and the appearance of Pyro in the first trailer for the movie, the latest batch of footage shows off some returning characters from previous "X-Men" movies. Perhaps even more interesting is where those characters appear in the trailer, especially when it comes to a certain piece of the environment that teases the gruesome fate of a Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero. Not just any hero, but the man responsible for bringing back everyone that Thanos snapped away in "Avengers: Endgame."
Giant-Man? Dead man.
At the 1:51 mark in the new trailer, there's a shot of characters standing somewhere in The Void from "Loki," albeit with a more "Mad Max" wasteland-style makeover, complete with a customized version of Red Skull's car from "Captain America: The First Avenger." Looming behind those characters is Ant-Man's helmet, but it's absolutely massive, like when the character grows into Giant-Man.
While it might seem like these characters have simply turned Giant-Man's hollow helmet into a giant door for their lair, there's an additional detail that makes this setting a little more grim for fans of Ant-Man. The mouth of the helmet slowly opens, and inside, you can see the bottom of a giant skull.
Marvel Studios
So it would seem that somewhere in the multiverse, Giant-Man was defeated, and his corpse was sent to The Void. Either that, or a variant of Ant-Man got sent to The Void, and while trying to survive as Giant-Man, he was killed and left to decompose inside his suit. That raises a lot of questions about this lair. Was Giant-Man's head really the best choice for an entrance? Surely, there must be some kind of terrible smell.
Will "Deadpool & Wolverine" provide any answers as to how this version of Giant-Man ended up here? Maybe, but it's probably not integral to the story. However, considering the roster of characters who can be spotted in this shot, the details may end up being important.
Many mutants
An earlier shot of this same setting shows the primary villain of "Deadpool & Wolverine" — Cassandra Nova, an antagonist from the X-Men comics who will be played by Emma Corin ("The Crown") — emerging from the Giant-Man helmet door. That means all of the characters standing around likely work for the character in The Void, and they've been trying to figure out how to get out of this desolate place for a long time.
If you glance around the characters standing in the other shots, there are two immediately recognizable characters. First, you'll notice a woman with blades for fingers, and that's undoubtedly Deathstrike from "X2: X-Men United." The brainwashed character from the sequel was played by Kelly Hu, but since she's not facing the camera, so it's not clear if Hu is reprising the role. Immediately to her right, there's a red-skinned character with a devil's tail, and that's definitely Azazel from "X-Men: First Class," one of the mutants working for Sebastian Shaw. The character was played by Jason Flemyng, but again, since we can't see the character's face, we're not sure if the actor is back in the role.
As for the rest of the characters, there's only one more with a couple of key traits that might give away their identity. To the left of Deathstrike, there's a character who is slightly crouched with goggles. That could easily be Toad. But what's not clear is which version this might be. My instinct says it's Ray Park from the original "X-Men," especially since it would be a lot of fun to bring back such a silly character. However, the Evan Jonigkeit version from "X-Men: Days of Future Past" would likely make more sense.
Either way, we're very much interested in seeing which other characters from Fox's Marvel movies pop up when "Deadpool & Wolverine" hits theaters on July 26, 2024.