Warning: Spoilers
Deadpool 2 is certainly one of the most unconventional takes on the popular comic-book-to-movie/superhero film genre since… well, the first Deadpool flick.
Part of the film’s charm is its tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre and the ultra confusing X-Men movie timeline.
As perplexing as it is, thanks to Ryan Reynolds’ brilliant portrayal of the fourth-wall-breaking ‘Merc-with-a-mouth’, it’s never really an issue when you’re watching the film.
However, once you’ve had your fill of R-rated shenanigans, you do begin to wonder where in the continually muddled X-Men timeline does Deadpool 2 take place.
There are a few clues, according to Insider, as to when the film takes place. The first is from a background cameo featuring X-Men: Apocalypse members such as Beast, Quicksilver and Professor X. It takes place during 1983, so you’d immediately assume Deadpool 2 takes place around then, right?
Wrong, Wade Wilson’s pop culture references and nods to Avengers: Infinity War, Logan and Sir Patrick Stewart (the original Charles Xavier) are way too ahead of its 1980’s timeline. So this possibility is ruled out.
The only other logical conclusion is, it takes place a few years after the events of Logan – which happens to be set in 2024. AKA the future.
In Deadpool 2 Wade is constantly referencing everyone’s favourite X-Man, he particularly seems distraught/angry he’s no longer with us (spoiler alert: Wolverine dies at the end of Logan). By acknowledging Wolverine’s death does this mean Deadpool 2 is set in the future?
Nope. In 2017’s Logan, Wolverine and Charles Xavier are one of the few remaining mutants left in a world which has seen the majority of the species wiped out.
In Deadpool 2, Wade is able to find more than enough mutants to form his very own X-Force. Furthermore, Professor X’s mutant school in upstate New York is very much present and filled with young mutants still in attendance.
In essence Deadpool 2 doesn’t take place in any kind of timeline whatsoever, as mentioned before, part of the film’s charm is the ability to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience.
It’s hyper-aware of how ridiculous and inconsistent the X-Men movie timelines are and the film is happy to poke fun at this fact.
Becuase it exists outside the confines of the X-Men and Marvel Cinematic Universes, there are no constraints to the film’s content – be it graphic violence, vulgar language or taking the p*ss out of other comic book movies and pop culture mediums.
If anything, thanks to Deadpool’s actions in the post-credit scenes, he was able to retcon all the follies of the previous X-Men films, including the God-awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
He even had the foresight to stop Ryan Reynolds (or himself) from taking the role of Hal Jordan in the bombastic flop which was The Green Lantern.
When UNILAD asked Deadpool 2 director, David Leitch, about the confusing timeline, he said:
To be honest I think we were just excited to get the cameos and make it work logistically and I think you’ll find that timelines are timelines in the X-Men world, but in the Deadpool world, we can have more fun with it and I wouldn’t necessarily say these cameos necessarily define it, because with one fourth wall break we can be in an entirely different timeline…
I’ll leave it to the fans to see where they think it lands, but Deadpool sort of runs on its own in his own lane.
While it remains unclear if Deadpool fits into a certain X-Men timelines, it’s possible the upcoming X-Force movie will give us a better idea.
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