Deadpool & Wolverine: The movies to watch ahead of the film's release

Ahead of the latest instalment coming to cinemas next week, these are the Marvel films that are worth revisiting

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo: 20th Century Studios / Marvel

The final trailer for the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine was released on Friday. It dropped more hints on what to expect from the crossover.

The Marvel film will star Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in the leading roles. However, since the Marvel Cinematic Universe has begun exploring multiverses, this film is likely to play into parts of all the past titles which featured Deadpool or X-Men characters.

Here are the films to re-watch, which are streaming on Disney+ in the Middle East:

X-Men (2000)

This is the first film to introduce the X-Men and focus on the conflict between Professor Xavier and Magneto. The movie is crucial in establishing Wolverine’s timeline and character arc within the X-Men film series. He is introduced as a mysterious and rugged loner who doesn’t know much about his past. The film also sets the stage for his central role in the series.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The fourth instalment of the X-Men film series explores Wolverine's backstory. It follows Logan from his childhood in the 19th century to the events that eventually led him to become Wolverine. The movie also explores his tumultuous relationship with his half-brother, Victor Creed (who later turns into the villain Sabretooth), and their experiences through various wars.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

In this film, a version of Wolverine from a post-apocalyptic future is sent back in time to 1973 to prevent a disaster that led to the downfall of mutant-kind. This storyline also explores his past and his role in altering future events, making it a key film for understanding Wolverine’s development and the broader X-Men timeline. It also provides insight into the aftermath of earlier X-Men films and the resulting changes in the timeline.

Deadpool (2016)

This film introduces Wade Wilson, a former special forces operative turned mercenary, who undergoes an experimental procedure to cure his terminal cancer. And while the experiment gives him accelerated healing powers, it horribly disfigures his face and body. This leaves him to take on the alter ego of Deadpool as he embarks on a quest for revenge against the man who ruined his life.

No Good Deed (2017)

The short film serves as a humorous prelude to Logan, providing a light-hearted moment before the much darker and grittier tone of the main film. In No Good Deed, Wade Wilson tries to change into his Deadpool costume in a phone booth to save a man from being mugged, but ultimately fails due to the time it takes him to change. This short film doesn't directly affect Wolverine timeline, but it offers a playful connection between the Deadpool and X-Men universes.

Logan (2017)

Set in a dystopian future where mutants are nearly extinct, the film portrays an older, weary Logan who is struggling with diminished healing abilities and caring for a mentally deteriorating Professor Xavier. Logan's life changes when he encounters Laura, a young mutant with powers similar to his own, who is revealed to be his daughter through genetic cloning.

Deadpool 2 (2018)

The sequel has a more direct connection to Wolverine, especially in its handling of the broader X-Men universe. The film features several meta-references to Wolverine, including a humorous scene where Deadpool confronts a toy of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and the use of the song All Out of Love by Air Supply, which was also featured in Logan. Additionally, the film's post-credits scene includes Deadpool travelling back in time to correct various events, including one where he “meets” Wolverine from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, poking fun at the earlier portrayal of Deadpool in that film.

What is Deadpool & Wolverine about and what is its release date?

The film will be in theatres in the UAE on Thursday, July 25, one day ahead of its US release on July 26. This is the third film in the Deadpool series.

Set six years after the events of Deadpool 2, the film follows Wade Wilson, who is living a quiet life after leaving his mercenary days behind. His peace is disrupted when the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organisation that oversees the timeline from outside of time and space, recruits him for a new mission.

With his universe facing a significant threat, Wilson is drawn into an uneasy partnership with Wolverine on a mission that could alter the course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.