Deadpool and Wolverine: Can Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman save Marvel?

“I’m the messiah… I’m Marvel Jesus!” proclaims Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool in his third lead outing as the acerbic, X-rated, genre-satirising anti-hero, who returns to cinemas on Thursday for the first time since 2018.

It’s a typically subversive line. But the sharpest jokes hold a grain of truth.

Disney’s Marvel franchise is not short of superheroes, but it is in need of saving right now.

Traditionally, heavyweights like Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk or the Avengers ensemble could be relied on to save the day. But these aren’t ordinary times for Marvel, following the studio’s much-discussed slump.

It’s a good thing, then, that Reynolds’ Deadpool has fully joined the fold, alongside Australian Hugh Jackman – who, thanks to the creative joys of the Marvel multiverse (parallel worlds of different realities), is able to reprise his iconic role as the late metal-clawed Wolverine.

A few years ago, even in the craziest timeline, a downturn in Marvel’s fortunes seemed unthinkable. In 2019, Avengers: Endgame alone took £2.1bn – a high point for the studio’s cinematic universe, which has earned Hollywood almost £23bn since 2008 in an eye-watering gold rush over 33 films.

But last year its iron grip loosened. The confusingly named The Marvels opened to a franchise record low of £38m.

Audience fatigue appeared heavy against an avalanche of interconnected multiverse content – from traditional blockbusters to TV series released on streaming over the pandemic.

This created “a muddled narrative that baffled viewers”, wrote Tatiana Siegel in a Variety feature headlined “Crisis at Marvel”., external She described Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige as spread too thin across projects, struggling to maintain standards and ready to wield the axe.

Disney CEO Bob Iger publicly acknowledged quantity had “diluted” the brand, external, promising to rein in the sequel-heavy culture and put stories first.