Everything You Need to Know, Recap of Deadpool 1 & 2

As anticipation builds for the release of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” fans of the Merc With a Mouth are eager to see what chaos and hilarity Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool) and Hugh Jackman‘s Logan (aka Wolverine) will bring to the screen.

Deadpool’s latest soirée has already led to “grown men” sobbing profusely, and early reactions have fans giddy with excitement over the film’s “epic” cameos and Reynolds and Jackman’s “dynamite” chemistry — with some viewers branding the movie as a Marvel Cinematic Universe “game changer.”

With the third installment set to further expand the Deadpool universe, here’s a refresher of the key plot points and characters from the first two movies — and what we know so far about the third.

‘Deadpool’ (2016) Recap

2016’s “Deadpool” introduced audiences to Reynolds’ Wade Wilson, a former Special Forces operative turned mercenary. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Wade undergoes an experimental procedure helmed by Francis Freeman, aka Ajax (Ed Skrein), meant to cure him. Instead, it disfigures him horribly while granting him superhuman healing abilities and a twisted sense of humor. Taking on the mantle of Deadpool, Wade tracks down Freeman and battles him on a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the film’s climax.

With the help of the X-Men’s Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), Deadpool ultimately defeats Ajax and reunites with his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) to live happily ever after and accepting his newfound role as an antihero (here’s hoping nothing goes terribly wrong!).

‘Deadpool 2’ (2018) Recap

The 2018 sequel starts off with something going terribly wrong. The film opens with Vanessa’s tragic death at the hands of a crime boss — on their anniversary, no less. Here, our favorite red-spandex-wearing Merc must deal with the grief and self-destructive tendencies brought about by his girlfriend’s death. He decides to officially join the X-Men to honor her legacy and, on their first mission, has a run-in with Russell (Julian Dennison), a young mutant held captive at a “Mutant Re-Education Center.”

Russell is a victim of mental and physical abuse at the hands of the school’s headmaster. Upon escaping the education center, he sets out to kill the headmaster, which triggers the arrival of the time-traveling mutant known as Cable (Josh Brolin).

Turns out, Russell’s killing of the headmaster is the catalyst for his turn as a serial killer who will eventually be responsible for the deaths of Cable’s family, so Cable decided to go back in time to kill Russell before that can ever happen. After learning of all of this, Deadpool sets off to stop Russell from making that first kill, preventing his turn into a killer, sparing him from a life of crime and saving Cable’s future family.

The film’s climax has Deadpool, Cable and the remaining members of X-Force (Deadpool’s reformed X-Men team) confront Russell and the monstrous Juggernaut (Reynolds) at the orphanage, leading to an epic showdown. Deadpool sacrifices himself to save Russell, which alters the course of history and makes it so Russell never becomes a murderer. Cable then uses his time-travel device to go back and save Wade, creating a new timeline where Vanessa is alive.

The film ends with Deadpool, Vanessa and their friends together, with Wade learning the importance of family and self-sacrifice in a new timeline that may just lend itself to future run-ins with other characters from Marvel comics.

What We Know About ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

One of the few things we know about “Deadpool & Wolverine” is, well, read the title!

While specific plot details remain under wraps, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is expected to continue the irreverent and meta-humor that fans love. The film will delve deeper into the multiverse, officially merging Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up endless possibilities for crossovers and new character introductions — the most paramount being the revival of Jackman’s Wolverine.

The film will be the 34th installment in the MCU and serves a direct sequel to “Deadpool 2.” From what fans have gathered from the trailers, the raunchy, R-rated (yes, an R-rated MCU film, you read that right) superhero flick sees Deadpool arrive in the MCU after being kidnapped by the Time Variance Authority, the multiverse managers last seen in the TV show “Loki,” and finding himself in the same world as the Avengers. Deadpool and Wolverine set off on a mission that will forever change the course of the MCU.

You may be wondering: Didn’t Wolverine die at the end of 2017’s “Logan,” sacrificing himself to save his clone daughter, Dafne Keen’s Laura, in what was considered a swan song for Jackman’s clawed hero? Yes, but the Wolverine featured in “Deadpool & Wolverine” isn’t quite the same version of the character. Instead, Jackman is presumably playing a variant from an alternate universe in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” leaving “Logan’s” original ending intact. Although, interestingly, Keen appears in “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” final trailer; however, she too is likely playing an alternate version of the character.

Shawn Levy directs the threequel, which also stars Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni and “Succession’s” Matthew Macfadyen. Marvel boss Kevin Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce “Deadpool & Wolverine,” with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers.

The screenplay was penned by the original “Deadpool” writing trio of Reynolds, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, as well as Zeb Wells and Levy.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” will be officially released in theaters on Friday, July 26, though you may be able to find a preview screening on July 25. In the meantime, read Variety‘s “NSFW” cover story featuring Reynolds, Jackman and Levy, and watch the film’s final trailer below.