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A Guide to THE WALKING DEAD’s Ongoing Spinoff Series

The Walking Dead is over but, as we know, the end of the flagship series that’s been in fans’ hearts for over a decade doesn’t mean this world is done. The show already has six spinoff series: Fear the Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. Most of them are completed; however, there’s a couple that are continuing this franchise with more seasons.

While The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live gave Rick and Michonne Grimes a happy reunion with their kids, other major characters’ new adventures are just beginning. Daryl Dixon is coming back for a second and third season of his spinoff series. And Maggie and Negan will come back in 2025 for more NYC chaos.

Jump To: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol // The Walking Dead: Dead City S2 // TWD Crossover Event

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season Two – “The Book of Carol” Is Coming in September

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is gearing up for season two and confirmed season three. But it seems the series might get a fourth round, according to Norman Reedus during a RadioTimes interview. “We’re about to start seasons 3 and possibly 4 in Spain,” he said. “I think I’m allowed to say that. I don’t know. I just said it. But I think we’re going to Spain, to Madrid, for that.”

Season two will release on September 29 with the first of six episodes. It is time to see what Carol will do and we get a taste of it in the official trailer:

Here are some images to get you ready for Caryl action:

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You can check out The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon‘s season two teaser below.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner David Zabel gave fans more insight into season two. He reveals that the Nest is a prominent location in season two and Carol’s previous comment about some mystery person coming back will come into play. “There’s also another clue… this moment in the radio call in episode 5 where she talks about something or someone having come back,” said Zabel. “And the impression we get, and Daryl also gets, is that something’s a little off for her, something’s wrong. And so that’s going to also function into the story for Carol in season 2.”

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season Two Will Arrive in 2025

While this universe is trucking along with Daryl’s adventures, things are slower for Dead City. We’ve known that a second season was coming for a while but didn’t know the release window until now. We will get season two in 2025. Season 1 ended with Maggie trading Negan to get her son Herschel back. Now, Negan is working for The Dama, a dangerous leader in NYC. This next chapter will presumably focus on her organization and Negan’s attempts to escape… if he even wants to do that. Negan no longer has his family and really has no friends either, so he might as well crank up the evil again, right? Well that’s exactly what seems to be the case in the above Dead City season two trailer.

These first-look season two photos bring us right back into the grittiness of this series:

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Here’s a synopsis for Dead City‘s second season:

In season two, in the growing war for control of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan find themselves trapped on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they come to see that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.

Anywho, season two will bring new faces into the mix. Deadline reports that Sons of Anarchy alum Kim Coates will join Dead City‘s cast as Bruegel, the leader of a fierce NYC gang.There are also a few other new cast members joining The Walking Dead: Dead City in season two. I particularly love Dascha Polanco.

Keir Gilchrist (Atypical, It Follows), in the role of “Benjamin Pierce”Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black, Poker Face), in the role of “Major Lucia Narvaez”Jake Weary (Oh, Canada, How to Blow Up a Pipeline), in the role of “Christos”Pooya Mohseni (Law & Order: SVU, See You Then), in the role of “Roksana”

Welcome to the Concrete Jungle! Meet the newest cast members of #DeadCity. pic.twitter.com/gmPK92xIV2

— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) July 26, 2024

The Walking Dead‘s Potential Spinoff Crossover Event and The Ones Who Live‘s Future

As fans know, Rick Grimes was supposed to get three movies, but now it is the limited series alongside Michonne. The Ones Who Live is meant to wrap up their storylines; however, Gimple says there might be more story to tell. “Anything is possible…,” he said to Deadline. “We’re focused on this one right now. But this one came together in a really amazing way, where there were all sorts of plans. And then the world changed and we altered those plans.”

AMC Networks

We obviously know now (and honestly always knew) that Rick did not die in his spinoff. He got to reunite with Judith and meet Rick, Jr., but there are so many reunions that need to happen. Morgan is out there looking for Rick, Daryl will eventually return to the US, and there’s the rest of his found family back home. All signs seem to be pointing to a crossover event, which Gimple wants to happen.

“I do have dreams of merging this all together, and I have laid little breadcrumbs toward that, but you never know exactly when and how [it will come together], because of a variety of reasons,” he told TVLine. As long as The Walking Dead franchise is getting money and attention from fans, it will surely keep making more spinoff content. That’s fine with us but please, please don’t follow the comics and kill Rick Grimes if you bring him back in the future.

With Norman Reedus wanting to play Daryl Dixon for several more years, it wouldn’t be shocking if he crossed into some future spinoff series. I wouldn’t mind a Daryl and Connie miniseries. Perhaps he will somehow come across Maggie and/or Negan in their show. Or, maybe he will be the gateway to introduce us to a new character to follow. A crossover event would likely put him front and center as one of this universe’s leading men.

A lot is happening in The Walking Dead universe and there will surely be more details about other spinoffs if they happen. There’s plenty left to explore in the land of the dead, so let’s keep walking right towards these spinoffs.

Jump To: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol // The Walking Dead: Dead City S2 // TWD Crossover Event

Originally published on April 7, 2022.

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THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY Season 2 Trailer Brings Back NYC and Negan’s Chilling Whistle

The Walking Dead universe continues to expand in several ways. Daryl and Carol are going on two separate journeys that could them together again in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – “The Book of Carol.” And Rick is thankfully at home and enjoying his life after years or torture. We are also getting more of Maggie and Negan’s series, The Walking Dead: Dead City, which will return for season two TKTKTK. Last season left us in an interesting place with the Dama forcing Negan to help unite a few NYC communities to fight the New Babylon Federation.

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Meanwhile, Maggie is heading back towards home with Herschel but they are still not completely safe. The Walking Dead: Dead City hit San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) and revealed a teaser trailer that takes us back into the world of the dead with Negan’s whistle.

Who could forget that whistle? #DeadCity returns 2025. pic.twitter.com/7lIElJHKMW

— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) July 26, 2024

The series will arrive in 2025. Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie, reveals that she puts on her director’s hat in season two. “My job is to take the things that are most inspiring and translate them to the screen and to do that you have an entire group of intensely talented individuals, and it was one of the most humbling experiences of my entire life,” she tells the audience.

The Walking Dead: Dead City Season Two Adds New Cast Members

There are also a few new cast members joining The Walking Dead: Dead City in season two. I particularly love Dascha Polanco.

Keir Gilchrist (Atypical, It Follows), in the role of “Benjamin Pierce”Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black, Poker Face), in the role of “Major Lucia Narvaez”Jake Weary (Oh, Canada, How to Blow Up a Pipeline), in the role of “Christos”Pooya Mohseni (Law & Order: SVU, See You Then), in the role of “Roksana”

Welcome to the Concrete Jungle! Meet the newest cast members of #DeadCity. pic.twitter.com/gmPK92xIV2

— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) July 26, 2024

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DOCTOR WHO Gives Us First Look at Christmas Special

Doctor Who is well and truly back, as evidenced by the return of Christmas specials. Last year’s, “The Church on Ruby Road,” introduced Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday and gave us our first full adventure with Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Hot on the heels of the finale, which saw a change of the guard, we have the next Christmas special heading our way. My guess? At Christmas. “Joy to the World” will be the very first Christmas special not written by the showrunner. Its writer is a previous showrunner, Steven Moffat. I have to say, Moffat always did write the best Christmas specials.

San Diego Comic-Con 2024’s Friday Hall H panel gave fans our first glimpse of the special in the form of a teaser. Check it out!

Just as you’d expect from a Moffat script, “Joy to the World” is a strange mystery with sci-fi silliness in the mix. The Doctor keeps popping through doors in different ages to present someone with ham and cheese toasty and a pumpkin latte. Eventually he happens upon Joy (Nicola Coughlan), who is alone on Christmas. Out of the locked door that always happens to be in every hotel pops a Silurian in a suit. Joy is terrified and brandishes a hairdryer which scares the Silurian. Just then, the Doctor shows up with the same tray, sees Joy, and smiles.

BBC/Disney+

This doesn’t make a ton of sense to us now, but it will! Oh boy, will it….probably. Locked doors, alien worlds, time-hopping, and delicious food? It must be Christmas! “Joy to the World” will air on Disney+ and BBC One this December.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Star in DOCTOR WHO Spinoff Series

Almost since we knew Russell T Davies would once again showrun Doctor Who, and that it would be on Disney+ outside the UK, we figured a spinoff or twelve would be in the works. Hell, we even knew one of them would have something to do with UNIT and Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Stewart. Now, as part of the 2024 Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, we know all of this is true. Davies announced the first spinoff of the D+ age will be a UNIT-centric, five-part limited series, entitled The War Between the Land and the Sea. Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, but there you are. The series will feature the return of classic monsters, the Sea Devils.

BBC/Disney+

The official synopsis is as follows:

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war.

Davies co-writes the series along with Pete McTighe, who had previously written “Kerblam!” and “Praxeus” for the Jodie Whittaker years. Additionally, McTighe has penned and produced several featurettes for classic Doctor Who Blu-ray releases. Directing the series will be Dylan Holmes-Williams, who directed “73 Yards” and “Dot and Bubble” from the most recent season.

Jason Dimmock/Michael Wharley

Starring in the series will be RTD-1-era guest stars Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who will join Redgrave’s Kate Stewart and Alexander Devrient’s Colonel Ibrahim. What we don’t know is whether Tovey and Mbatha-Raw will play the characters they played in the mid-2000s. My guess would be not; Mbatha-Raw played Tish Jones, younger sister of companion Martha Jones. It might make sense for her to be there. However, Tovey played Midshipman Alonso Frame, a space cruise ship crewmember from the distant future. Far less likely, but who can say.

Davies said: “I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.“

BBC

No word yet on when The War Between the Land and the Sea will air, but we imagine some time prior to Doctor Who‘s next season. Or, after it. One of the two.

This will mark the first Doctor Who spinoff series since the short-lived 2016 series Class. Davies loves him some Who spinoffs, having created both the adult-aimed Torchwood and younger viewer-focused The Sarah Jane Adventures during his original tenure.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Build Your Own LEGO Rocket Ship and Set It Into Orbit as Part of LEGO’s SDCC Booth Experience

LEGO’s SDCC 2024 booth (#2829) takes the shape of Space Station 8R1CK5 this year. Space Station 8R1CK5 has many unique facets, including immersive space windows, over fifty LEGO sets displayed, some of which have never been seen in person, life-size brick-built figures, and one truly unique “Build Your Own LEGO Rocket” SDCC experience.

Nerdist

In LEGO’s SDCC “Build Your Own LEGO Rocket” experience, guests can design a spacecraft and then build their own creation using LEGO bricks. If making your own LEGO rocket come to life wasn’t cool enough, though, those who stop by for this LEGO booth experience will also be able to actually set their craft in orbit. LEGO’s SDCC booth has a special LED backdrop that will take your rocket out of this world. Honestly, words don’t do justice to just how extraordinary it is to see your LEGO rocket blast off into deep space.

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LED backdrops are some of the coolest ways to create truly immersive experiences. And right there, in the heart of SDCC 2024, you and your rocket will travel light-years away. Your heart will skip a beat when an unexpected comet flashes through the cosmos. And you’ll delight in seeing an errant spaceship float by. No other SDCC booth will sweep you off on a more beautiful journey.

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In addition to its LED offering, LEGO is going old-school and also providing a version of its beautiful space vision made out of LEGO bricks. Honestly, it’s hard to know which version of the backdrop is better, so we’ll just have to settle for saying both of them are supernova-level spectacular. Seeing how LEGO’s gloriously colored bricks come together to create the night sky before us is truly amazing, though.

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As a special surprise, those who complete this LEGO space mission will also receive an exclusive SDCC 2024 embroidered patch from LEGO. Mission success! As they say. If you’re at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, make sure to stop by LEGO’s booth to take part in this experience. You won’t want to miss going on a space adventure of your own. We at Nerdist personally got to witness astronauts, big and small, embarking on a true mission of imagination. Everyone was so incredibly enthused about making their spacecraft and then equally excited about seeing it set off to space. It was honestly a heartwarming experience. If the intent was to encourage imagination and creative thinking, LEGO knocked it right out of the park (and into the outer atmosphere) with this one.

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If you’re not at SDCC 2024, though, fear not; you can have your own cosmic LEGO experience by checking out all of LEGO’s latest space sets.

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Soldier Boy Will Be a Series Regular in THE BOYS Season 5

Give me a big “Oi!” The Boys is officially coming back for season five. The show made the glorious announcement via its social media pages a little over a month before the premiere date of its fourth season. The Boys is undoubtedly one of Prime Video’s most popular shows (for a great reason) so it is not a shocking announcement at all.

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The next season will give us more Soldier Boy, whom we saw in the mid-credits scene of the season four finale. Eric Kripke confirmed at SDCC 2024 that Soldier Boy would be a series regular in The Boys season five. Let’s gooooo.

In true Boys fashion, the announcement clip includes Kimiko using a knife to carve the words “season 5” into wood. 

You’re gonna wanna carve out time to watch this, luvs pic.twitter.com/8huvd3DOCK

— THE BOYS (@TheBoysTV) May 14, 2024

Showrunner Eric Kripke previously said that five seasons is a good stopping point for The Boys. So this could possibly be the final round for this bloody supe series. Of course, this won’t be the end of the universe. There’s still a lot of story possibilities for Gen V as well as other opportunities to do all sorts of spinoffs. Imagine a Homelander prequel or perhaps Kimiko and Frenchie setting off for their own adventures. Either way, another season means this franchise will likely get a chance to complete its story. In today’s streaming world, that’s a blessing for the fandom. 

Prime Video

Here’s what Kripke had to say about The Boys coming back for a fifth season:

The Boys is an unabashed and bold series that continues captivating our customers all over the world by piercing the cultural fabric season after season,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios. “We are proud of this series that has grown into a global franchise, and we are thrilled that Eric Kripke and the creative team have more engaging stories to tell for all the loyal fans.

Recently, Kripke also gave an update on season five of The Boys, noting there was some craziness in store. He revealed, “we’re about a month into the writers room right now, so we have some pretty cool notions. It’s a very raw lava-esque deal right now. It hasn’t hardened into anything, but I’m excited. I think there’s some crazy sh-t’s been talked about, that’s for sure.”

In the meantime, we can watch The Boys season four on Prime Video.

Originally published on May 14, 2024.

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GEN V Season Two Coming in 2025, Chance Crawford’s The Deep Joining the Cast

Gen V’s sophomore year is loading and it is going to be one hell of a bloody ride. The show’s first season lived up to the chaos standard of The Boys, taking us into the dark depths of Godolkin University. The Gen V finale left Marie, Jordan, Emma, and Andre locked in a strange hospital room. Meanwhile, Sam and Cate are the (very dangerous) new “Guardians of Godolkin.” We know the events in the Woods will play into The Boys season four but what’s next for these young supes?

Thanks to SDCC 2024, we found out that Gen V will indeed hit our screens sometime in 2025. And Chance Crawford’s The Deep will be in the mix of this season in a more significant way. A clip shown to attendees at the con features the God U grad back at his alma mater. It isn’t available quite yet, but Marie and the others arrive back at God U in a prison van. They are welcomed by Cate Dunlap, who seems to feel some remorse for her recent actions. She should considering supes are ruling over humans, who have to wear badges now. And Marie fights a lot of people with her bloody powers. We will be sure to share it with you when it goes live for all to see.

Sophomore year confirmed!!! pic.twitter.com/rxqYzp9vXo

— GEN V (@genv) July 26, 2024

Here’s everything we know about Gen V season two. 

Shane Mahood/Prime VideoGen V Season Two’s Plot 

The plot for Gen V season two is currently unknown for a couple of reasons. First, the events of The Boys season four will have a direct effect on what’s to come for Marie and company. We know that Sam and Cate will show up at Vought and get into some awful supe business with Homelander and the new Seven collective. But we will have to wait and see what happens to characters like Marie, Jordan, Emma, and Victoria Neuman. 

The tragic death of Chance Perdomo, who played Andre Anderson, is also affecting the script for obvious reasons. The actor died at age 27 on the same day the cast was set to reunite for table reads. Producers have confirmed that Perdomo’s role will not be recast and they are actively working on season two scripts to honor his legacy. The Boys creator/showrunner Eric Kripke gave us further insight in an Entertainment Weekly interview.

“So we had to almost rethink everything, and in just a matter of weeks,” said Kripke. “But what I tell people when they say ‘Wow, that’s really crazy or difficult’ [is] that pales in comparison to what his friends and loved ones are going through. It’s the least we could do,” he said.

Behind-the-Scenes

Craig Rosenberg, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke will continue in production roles alongside showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas. Production will begin in May 2024. 

pic.twitter.com/xMUPkY7gq3

— GEN V (@genv) May 5, 2024

Gen V Season Two’s Cast 

We can assume that Jaz Sinclair (Marie Moreau), Lizze Broadway (Emma Meyer/Cricket), Maddie Phillips (Cate Dunlap), Londor Thor and Derek Luh (Jordan Li), and Asa Germann (Sam Riordan) will all reprise their roles for season two.

Gen V season two will add Hamish Linklater to its cast, according to Variety. He will play Cipher, “the charismatic and charming newly-appointed Dean of Godolkin University. Trained as a scientist, he’s politically brilliant, and has the trust and admiration of officials at the highest level.”

Gen V Season Two’s Release Date Prime Video

Gen V season two will hit our screens sometime in 2025.

Originally published on May 7, 2024.

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One DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Surprise Cameo Was 15 Years in the Making

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Deadpool & Wolverine is a delightfully dirty superhero movie with multiversal mishaps. It’s also a very clever commentary on the transience of franchise movies. What happens to the characters in an aborted cinematic universe? As such, the movie features a plethora of cameos from versions of characters we know from previous films, most of whom don’t have a home anymore. And some never had a home to begin with. One particular Deadpool & Wolverine cameo made a 10-year promise a hilarious reality.

Marvel Studios

When Deadpool and Wolverine end up in the Void, they meet a number of variants and characters from pruned universes. Among these are characters like X-23, Elektra, and Johnny Storm. But one character, and more specifically one actor, who shows up is none other than Channing Tatum, finally playing Gambit. For those who don’t know, Tatum had been 20th Century Fox’s choice to play Gambit in the X-Men universe from 2006. Initially, he wanted to do it but was unavailable. Eventually Gambit did appear, with Taylor Kitsch’s less-than-popular turn in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

All the way back in 2014, producer Lauren Shuler Donner signed Tatum to play Gambit for Fox in a solo movie. Presumably, once that movie was a hit, he’d eventually join the rest of the X-Men. Almost immediately after the agreement, the project went into development hell. Directors like Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ Rupert Wyatt, The Bourne Identity‘s Doug Liman, and Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Gore Verbinski all signed on to direct at various points. Tatum and producing partner Reid Carolin also lobbied to direct.

Marvel Comics/Warner Bros.

Tatum was introduced on stage at the 2015 Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con. That panel also debuted teasers for both X-Men: Apocalypse and the first Deadpool. That’s how gosh-darn long ago it was. The project had been on the books for Fox every year after. Disney canned the movie officially when they bought 20th Century in 2019. But even as recently as 2022, Tatum said he’d still like the chance to play Remy LeBeau.

Tatum in Deadpool & Wolverine represents the culmination of the actor’s entire career. Certainly not in heft or resonance, but just in time spent. He wears the comic-accurate Gambit costume, talks in a ridiculously over the top Cajun accent, and makes several references to never being outside the Void. It’s not only an awesome character to have in a big fight scene, but for people who’ve wanted a Tatum Gambit movie for decades, it’s a lovely sigh of relief.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Why DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Transcends Canon and Timelines

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s MCU debut raised some obvious questions. How does their team-up connect to Fox’s X-Men movies? What did the film reveal about the TVA, the Void, and the Sacred Timeline? And when, where, and how did this crossover take place in the multiverse? Deadpool & Wolverine provided the same answer to all those questions and more: it doesn’t matter, because making sense of timelines and canon is not the point of the movie. Deadpool & Wolverine only cared about delivering a wildly entertaining, fun farewell to an entire era of superhero stories.

[image error]Marvel Studios

If you spend any time trying to “figure out” Deadpool & Wolverine‘s finer technical points—the kind we normally obsess over—you’ll quickly realize a lot of it doesn’t make sense. For example, Ryan Reynolds’ Prime Deadpool lives in the same universe, Earth-10005, as the Wolverine of Logan. That Wolverine was also that universe’s “anchor being,” and his death began (what would have been) Earth-10005’s eventual collapse. Yet that Logan died in the year 2029, five years after the setting of Deadpool & Wolverine. So if Wade could use a TVA TemPad to travel to the future and dig up that Logan’s corpse, why didn’t Wade jump to a point in the timeline where Logan was still alive instead?

Because it doesn’t matter. Just like it doesn’t matter if Earth-10005 is where every Fox era film took place in regards to the MCU. (Speaking of timelines that don’t make sense.) Nor does it matter how the end of Deadpool 2, when Wade used Cable’s time travel device to change the past, fits into anything. That’s as irrelevant as why Wade applied for a job with the Avengers on Earth-616. To focus on any questions about canon, connections, and timelines after Deadpool & Wolverine, in regards to either cinematic franchise, is to miss what Deadpool & Wolverine was actually about.

Marvel Studios

Director Shawn Levy’s movie utilized the multiverse, but it wasn’t concerned with how the multiverse works. It didn’t even really care why Deadpool or Wolverine was now in the MCU at all. (Neither did it care if either will be part of it moving forward. The movie could easily serve as both Reynolds and Jackman’s final time as their characters.)

Instead Deadpool & Wolverine was about closing the book on the Fox X-Men/Marvel cinematic universe. That’s definitely over and done with, even if certain actors (like Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammer) are playing their X-Men characters’ Variants in the MCU. Any questions about the Fox timeline or how it fits within the MCU simply do not matter. The only explanation we need for why Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is now in the MCU at all is as simple as the one the Merc With a Mouth repeatedly referenced in the film: because Disney bought Deadpool’s movie rights. It’s a meta answer in a meta movie headlined by a fourth-wall breaking character. It makes perfect sense.

Maybe you hate that the film actively didn’t care about official canon or even logic. But Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t care because its focus was entirely on telling an entertaining, hilarious, emotional story that served as a celebration of an entire era of superhero movies. Its many surprise cameos work as well as they do because they weren’t included to establish those characters (or actors) in the MCU. The movie included them solely because they were fun, the single overarching ethos of Deadpool & Wolverine. This movie wanted to offer a fun experience you “felt” rather than something you had to make sense of.

Marvel Studios

Making sense of canon, timelines, and minor plot points is often the complete opposite of fun. It can be tedious and frustrating, often because it’s nearly impossible. That’s true even for the people who make these movies. Avengers: Endgame‘s directors and writers didn’t even agree on how time travel works! In an era where people use the word “homework” to describe watching most cinematic universes, especially the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine was summer break. It was as though the film said, “School’s out! Have a blast during your time off and we’ll see you in the fall!”

That approach worked. Deadpool & Wolverine is a better movie because it actively didn’t care about unimportant details. And that meant we didn’t have to, either. Instead of questioning the logic of Wade Wilson using Logan’s skeleton, we got to merely enjoy it. Just like there was no reason to let logic prevent Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan from showing up for an absurd job interview. That was a great scene! It was simple, unencumbered fun. That’s what the movie cared about giving us rather than explaining what Wade’s failed application in a different universe might mean for his MCU future. We can worry about that in the future if it ever matters.

Marvel Studios

Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t let the “rules” of cinematic universes with all this canon and timeline stuff stop Channing Tatum from finally playing Gambit. It didn’t let logic, canon, or anything else keep Chris Evans, Wesley Snipes, and Jennifer Garner from reprising their old superhero roles. And it definitely didn’t care if the reason Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally got a chance to do a good Wolverine and Deapool team-up made total sense or connected movies. It didn’t do any of that because none of that mattered. The only logical explanation the film, or any of us, needed for why this movie exists is the only one the movie provided: because it could. And the only thing that matters is that it sure was fun to see.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist happy to be on summer break from MCU homework. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Cameos in the Void Are Epic and Weird

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We’ve always suspected that Deadpool & Wolverine was going to be a cameo-fest from Marvel movies past, especially those coming from Twentieth Century Fox. And we were totally right. Many Marvel characters from pre-MCU films appeared in the Multiversal trash heap world known as The Void. It is a place at the end of time where elements from obsolete timelines go to die. The evil Cassandra Nova, sister of Professor X, rules this Void, as a rag-tag group of forgotten heroes from past Marvel films oppose her. The movie refers to them mainly as “the Others.” But we could just as easily call them “the Avengers of the Void.” Here are the surprise heroes who made the cut for the MCU’s weirdest super team ever.

Elektra (Jennifer Garner)Twentieth Century Fox

Jennifer Garner returned as Elektra Nachios, the ninja assassin she played in 2003’s Daredevil and her own spin-off film, Elektra. Neither film became a hit with critics or fans. But we must confess, she was pretty awesome in Deadpool & Wolverine. She kicked the asses of Cassandra Nova’s goons with her twin sai swords, reminding us a bit of the glory days of Alias. She also got the best laugh in the movie, with a joke at the expense of her former co-star/former husband Ben Affleck, who famously played Daredevil alongside her.

Blade (Wesley Snipes)New Line Cinema

The man who truly proved Marvel heroes could work in movies made a very welcome return in Deadpool & Wolverine. Wesley Snipes once again played The Daywalker, Blade. The half-human/half-vampire badass was subject of the first successful Marvel film in 1998. Blade helped kick off a cinematic revolution we’re still living in today. Snipes’ return was a bit of a shock, for several reasons. He allegedly did not get along with co-star Ryan Reynolds in Blade Trinity. Not to mention, the Blade films came from New Line Cinema, not Twentieth Century Fox, which Disney now owns. Thank goodness old grievances were let go, and Snipes could return to do what he does best.

The Human Torch (Chris Evans)Twentieth Century Fox

Audiences gasped when Captain America, the heart and soul of the MCU, returned in Deadpool & Wolverine. Except, it wasn’t actually Cap. Yes, Deadpool & Wolverine marks the return of Chris Evans to the MCU, but he played his original Marvel role, that of Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch in The Fantastic Four. We’re not sure what became of the rest of his family in the Void (probably nothing good), but Johnny fought side by side with the Avengers of the Void—until Cassandra Nova ripped the flesh from his bones and killed him. But at least we got to see Evans shout “Flame On!” one last time. And also say a lot of curse words that would make Steve Rogers blush bright red.

Gambit (Channing Tatum)MGM/Marvel Comics

Thought those cameos were shocking? How about an actor that never even got to play the Marvel role he coveted? Channing Tatum appears as the ragin’ Cajun X-Man known as Gambit, wearing his full Jim Lee-designed costume, made famous by X-Men: The Animated Series. Does the costume, and Tatum’s Cajun accent, all read as ridiculous in live-action? You bet. And that’s what made Tatum’s performance so delicious. This role was a very long time coming for Tatum, a huge Gambit fan. He was first announced to play the card-throwing Remy LeBeau in 2014, for a solo film. It kept getting delayed and delayed, until Disney bought Fox, and killed the project. We’re glad Marvel Studios finally let Tatum play his dream role at last.

X-23 (Dafne Keen)Marvel Studios

The heart of this makeshift Avengers team, however, is Dafne Keen, who returns to the role of Laura Kinney/X-23. She’s the same daughter of Wolverine she played in Logan, only now she’s a young woman and not a kid anymore. She fights just like her father Logan taught her, and helps the Wolverine in this film reconnect with the hero he once was. After all, her Logan sacrificed himself to save her, and many other mutant kids. She knows this Logan is made of the same stuff. Her moments with Logan in the film are fantastic, and we hope she finds a place on any future MCU X-Men team.

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