Unlike most Disney-Marvel films produced today, the upcoming “Deadpool & Wolverine” has many fans genuinely excited.
The teaming up of two iconic characters brought to life by generation-defining acting talent — Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the titular heroes — may finally bring the Marvel Cinematic Unvierse back into relevance… at least for a brief moment.
But the film is by no means a surefire fit.
Hughkatana Matata! #DeadpoolAndWolverine #LFG ❤️💛 pic.twitter.com/cyEyEy0Wte
— Deadpool Movie (@deadpoolmovie) April 22, 2024
If Disney fails to learn the right lessons from the studio’s growing list of modern box office flops, “Deadpool & Wolverine” may find itself added to that list.
A recently released trailer for the film, set to hit theaters July 26, suggests that one of the studio’s most criticized modern tropes will yet again rear its head in the superhero epic.
More specifically, the film may do to Jackman’s Wolverine what films like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” did to other similarly lauded male heroes like Indiana Jones and Luke Skywalker — it’ll turn him into a washed-up, disillusioned failure.
Based on the trailer, the plot of “Deadpool & Wolverine” will see the mercenary-turned-antihero Deadpool traverse the multiverse to stop a yet-to-be-revealed existential threat.
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At some point on this journey, the Merc with a Mouth (as he’s affectionately referred to in the comic book fandom) will need to recruit a version of Wolverine from the multiverse.
The trailer makes it clear that this Wolverine is not the heroic X-Men leader many have grown used to seeing Jackman portray over the years.
Rather, he’s a retired drunk who, at some point in the past, failed to save his own world.
As mentioned above, this is a trope Disney is well-known for at this point.
Most famously, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which was hyped as the heroic return of Luke Skywalker, revealed that, decades after the events of Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi,” Luke had failed in his efforts to build a new Jedi order, almost attempted to murder his own nephew and had completely given up all hope.
Luke actor Mark Hamil was one of many fans who thought director Rian Johnson’s decision to undermine Luke’s heroism was out of line with the character.
“I said to Rian, ‘Jedis don’t give up.’ I mean, even if [Luke] had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong, so right there, we had a fundamental difference,” Hamil said according to Collider.
“I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s ‘Jake Skywalker,’ he’s not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.”
Similarly, in 2023’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the beloved character of Indiana Jones is revealed to have separated from his wife. He’s a washed-up, depressed, shadow of his former self.
Now, there is precedence for Wolverine being in such a state in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Hugh Jackman’s previous take on the character, 2017’s “Logan” — which was originally meant to be his last performance as the character — depicted the superhero in such a state.
That said, “Logan” did not come out at a time when many other popular franchise-leading heroes were also being deconstructed in such a depressing way.
Moreover, that take on the character is based on the seminal “Old Man Logan” series of comic books.
In other words, unlike many other examples where Disney destroyed the dignity of popular male heroes, there is actually successful precedence in this case.
Because of that, perhaps “Deadpool & Wolverine” has a chance of both pleasing the fans and honoring the source material.
That said, based on Disney’s current track record, that is by no means a guarantee.
