Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine demonstrates that realizing Zack Snyder’s eternally legendary but unmade Justice League sequels is indeed possible. Deadpool & Wolverine teams Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With a Mouth up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine on a mission to save the former’s universe from being wiped out of existence. Deadpool & Wolverine also includes an abundance of cameos and supporting characters building out the movie’s multiverse-spanning adventure. Meanwhile, Deadpool & Wolverine’s wildest twist of all is how much the movie addresses – and thoroughly debunks – just about all the most commonly cited blockades to Zack Snyder’s five-part Justice League arc ever being finished.
Overcoming Production Troubles And Studio Conflicts
One such oft-cited roadblock is the notoriously troubled production of Justice League itself causing an insurmountable falling out between Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. That divide has already begun to erode with the recent news of Snyder entering talks with Warner Bros. Discovery to helm a 300 prequel series (via Variety), indicating that the split between Snyder and Warner Bros. is at least in the process of healing. The fact that Warner Bros. Discovery’s current management were not involved in the behind-the-scenes Justice League troubles is undoubtedly a major factor in Snyder and the studio seemingly being on working terms again.
This is also where Deadpool & Wolverine enters the equation by way of the numerous Marvel actors returning in cameos and supporting roles, most of which were also seen as outright impossibilities before July 25th, 2024.
One of the most relevant is Wesley Snipes’ return as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine, a major surprise after the legendarily troubled production of 2004’s Blade: Trinity and the bad blood that arose between Snipes and Ryan Reynolds. Yet, per Snipes himself, Reynolds personally contacted him about returning as Blade (via EW).
The fact that Snipes and Reynolds were able to bury the hatchet for Deadpool & Wolverine also argues heavily against the notion that Snyder and Warner Bros. could not do the same if a mutual desire to wrap up Snyder’s Justice League story were met between the two parties.
The DCEU’s Decline And The Potential For Revival
Another commonly cited reason that Zack Snyder’s two unmade Justice League sequels will forever remain unmade is the decline of the DCEU itself, along with the upcoming DCU reboot. Indeed, the DCEU experienced an absolutely dreadful year at the box office in 2023. Of course, context matters in this case, as an argument can most definitely be made that the DCEU’s 2023 slate was doomed as soon as news broke of James Gunn’s impending reboot.
Additionally, the return of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra also makes a compelling case for even the most unlikely of comebacks. Garner’s Elektra previously appeared in 2003’s Daredevil, which saw a decent but not spectacular reception, and 2005’s Elektra spin-off, which was quite ill-received and earned a whopping $57 million worldwide. Moreover, Garner’s iteration of Elektra hadn’t exactly accrued anything resembling a cult following. Still, none of that mattered to Deadpool & Wolverine. The movie had a multiverse-spanning story to tell, and Garner’s Elektra fit right into it.
It is also often argued that both Zack Snyder and the entire Justice League cast have moved on from the franchise altogether. By the same token, Deadpool & Wolverine began running roughshod over the idea of such permanent retirement the moment Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine comeback was announced. 2017’s Logan explicitly and quite emphatically marketed itself as Jackman’s Wolverine swan song, as did Jackman himself, and Deadpool & Wolverine still integrates Jackman as a Wolverine variant while preserving Wolverine’s demise in Logan. Within the context of Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman is also hardly alone in returning to a comic book movie character he’d seemingly moved on from.
The Multiverse Factor and Unexpected Returns
Dafne Keen’s X-23 also returns to claw down her enemies in Deadpool & Wolverine, while Tyler Mane’s Sabretooth also returns for an (admittedly brief) mutant smackdown with Wolverine. Chris Evans’ acclaimed 8-year-run as the MCU’s Captain America also left his prior performance as the Human Torch in Fox’s Fantastic Four movies all but forgotten by the general public, yet Evans is on hand to exclaim “Flame on!” for the first time in 17 years in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Aaron Stanford’s Pyro also makes a similar return, while the movie also includes a couple of major wildcards in Channing Tatum’s Gambit and Henry Cavill’s Wolverine variant, the former appearing despite Fox’s Gambit solo movie never getting off the ground, and the latter paying off the long-running internet fan-casting of Cavill as Wolverine. The point is that in the superhero genre, no big star or filmmaker’s retirement is ever truly set in stone, especially not when the multiverse is a factor. Not for Deadpool & Wolverine, and not for Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
It should still be emphasized that realizing the remainder of Snyder’s Justice League arc is a far more grandiose task that the supporting players of Deadpool & Wolverine returning to iconic roles. Finishing Snyder’s story of Darkseid’s invasion of Earth, the Knightmare future, the League’s final battle against the forces of Apokolips, and the heroic sacrifice of Ben Affleck’s Batman is a much bigger endeavour than simply calling up a dozen or so actors for a week or two of shooting. However, Deadpool & Wolverine DOES nonetheless demonstrate that the most commonly cited reasons for why it can never happen ultimately don’t hold water.
The Path Forward for the SnyderVerse
While the overall aim might be much larger, Snyder getting the Justice League band back together is no more outrageous a desire for fans to advocate for than Wesley Snipes and Ryan Reynolds working together again. Finishing up Snyder’s five-part Justice League arc is an endeavor that would surely be complex, laborious, and call upon Snyder, Warner Bros. Discovery, DC Studios, and the Justice League cast to all agree to come aboard. But after the once unthinkable comebacks of numerous former Marvel stars that Deadpool & Wolverine just pulled off (along with Robert Downey. Jr. becoming the MCU’s Doctor Doom the very same weekend at San Diego Comic-Con), one thing Restoring the SnyderVerse cannot be called is a ludicrous proposition.
Tell us, do you think Deadpool & Wolverine proves that Zack Snyder’s Justice League 2 has a chance?
