Summary
Spider-Man might have been likely to show up inDeadpool & Wolverineif it weren’t for Sony and Marvel’s legal restrictions on theMCU’s wall-crawler. WhileDeadpool & Wolverinefocuses on its titular characters, it also works as a multiversal crossover.Deadpool & Wolverine’s multiversal cameosand supporting characters pay homage to heroes who were introduced in Marvel movies set outside the MCU, such as Wesley Snipes' Blade, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, and Chris Evans' Human Torch. It also establishes Fox’sX-Menuniverse, now named Earth-10005, as an active part of the Sacred Timeline.
Apart from its cameos,Deadpool & Wolverine’s easter eggstie into other MCU properties such asLoki,Avengers: Age of Ultron,Thor: The Dark World,Iron Man 2,andAvengers: Endgame, the latter two referenced through Peter Parker’s Iron Man toy helmet and Peter’s photo with Tony Stark. Deadpool’s self-awareness allows him to acknowledge real-life people such as Kevin Feige, Chris Evans, and Henry Cavill. And for a brief moment, Deadpool references Spider-Man by motioning his hands as if he was shooting webs from his wrists. However, Spider-Man is never explicitly mentioned and neither Peter Parker nor his Spider-Man costume appear inDeadpool & Wolverine.
I Think Deadpool & Wolverine Hid Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Because Of The Marvel-Sony Deal
MCU heroes were always going to be optional forDeadpool & Wolverine, as its two titular heroes are inherently more important than any characters they could meet on their journey. Taking place in the Void and Earth-10005,Deadpool & Wolverine’s plot went one step forward and ignored Earth-616 for most of the movie’s runtime, only visiting it at the very beginning. Hence, Wolverine and Deadpool had little reason to cross paths with major heroes like Spider-Man and the Avengers. However,were it easier for Marvel to feature Spider-Man in cameo appearances, perhaps Wade Wilson could have met Spidey at some point inDeadpool & Wolverine.
Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Ending Explained
Spider-Man: No Way Home’s ending is a big one in terms of setting things up for the MCU’s future and seeing the next stage in Peter Parker’s journey.
Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man deal has been one of the MCU’s most impressive feats, and the collaboration between both companies has definitely paid off, with a massively successful MCUSpider-Mantrilogy andSpider-Man’s key appearances in three MCU crossovers. Still, Spider-Man isn’t able to appear in other heroes' MCU titles as easily as the rest of the Avengers, as it would likely take considerable time, effort, and money for Sony and Marvel to coordinate a simple cameo. Otherwise, several MCU movies and shows would likely include brief appearances by Marvel’s most popular hero.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Not Appearing Works Perfectly In-Universe
It Makes Sense For Peter Parker To Be Obscured In All In-Universe Footage And Documents
At the beginning ofDeadpool & Wolverine,Peter Parker’s photo with Tony Stark appears in Happy Hogan’s office. Curiously, though, Peter’s Iron Man toy helmet is placed right in front of the picture, obscuring Peter. This is a clever way for the MCU to add Peter Parker without it including Tom Holland’s likeness, which would require Sony to be involved. On top of that, Peter’s obscured photo also makes sense in-universe, asDoctor Strange’s secondSpider-Man: No Way Homespell retroactively erased Peter Parker from all pictures, videos and documents in his timeline.
If any character were to travel back in time to any point in Earth-616’s timeline, they likely wouldn’t be able to find any information about Peter Parker
Wade Wilson’s trip to Earth-616 takes place in 2018, which would suggest that Peter Parker hasn’t been framed by Mysterio yet and thus Doctor Strange hasn’t performed his memory-wiping spells. However, the fact that Peter Parker’s image is obscured suggests that Doctor Strange’s spell was so powerful that it worked across all time, not only as an illusion in the present day. So, if any character were to travel back in time to any point in Earth-616’s timeline, they likely wouldn’t be able to find any information about Peter Parker. It’s unclear, however, if the spell also affected the TVA, though it’s unlikely.
Marvel And Sony Should Team-Up For A Deadpool & Spider-Man Movie
Spider-Man Is The Perfect Character For Deadpool’s Next MCU Team-Up Movie
Deadpool is a long-time frenemy of two heroes in Marvel Comics: Wolverine and Spider-Man. Now that Deadpool has finally teamed up with Wolverine on the big screen, the perfect candidate for Wade Wilson’s next MCU adventure is Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Not only would a"Deadpool and Spider-Man"be an exciting event for Marvel fans and general audiences alike, but it would also be a huge achievement for Marvel.An MCUDeadpool and Spider-Manmoviewould follow a Fox hero and a Sony hero — an unthinkable scenario for the most diehard of fans just a few years back.
What’s more, a Deadpool and Spider-Man MCU crossover is already quite likely to happen. BesidesDeadpool & Wolverine’s record-breaking box office performance, the cast and crew’s eagerness to make a bigger and betterDeadpoolsequel is a positive sign.Shawn Levy has expressed his interest in a Deadpool and Spider-Man team-up, and both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have commented on the possibility, saying they would"love to play with Spider-Man"and"pile on him", respetively (viaEW). Deadpool and Spider-Man’s first encounter, however, may happen inAvengers: DoomsdayorAvengers: Secret Wars.
