‘Deadpool 3’ is already rewriting Marvel history by smashing a movie milestone 22 years in the making

Deadpool & Wolverine is going to be special. We’ve always known this. Ever since it was confirmed Deadpool was joining the MCU, that it was announced Hugh Jackman was returning as Wolverine, and ever since we heard that the adorable Dogpool was going to be its secret star. But even though we know it kicks off a brand new era of the X-Men existing in the Marvel Studios universe, even though it stands as the only MCU movie releasing in 2024, Deadpool 3 is still even more special than we realized.

It’s fair to say the hype for the Ryan Reynolds threequel is through the roof, with it generating a palpable reaction from a wide audience that we have sadly rarely seen in the Multiverse Saga so far. A big part of that is the fact that Deadpool, one of the most definitive cinematic superheroes of the past decade, has not been seen on the big screen for a full six years. If that feels like a hideously long time to wait for a much-anticipated Marvel sequel then, well, there’s a very good reason for that.

Deadpool & Wolverine taking six years to reach cinemas makes it a Marvel record-holder

The gap of half a dozen years between 2018’s Deadpool 2 and 2024’s Deadpool 3 is actually the longest it’s ever taken for a Marvel sequel to hit theaters. We may have had reboots and remakes be added to a franchise in periods longer than this but never has a direct follow-up, in the way that & Wolverine is very much a spiritual successor to DP2, taken so such a stretch of time to release.

The very first Marvel sequel movie came our way 22 years ago in the form of 2002’s Blade II, with the second being 2003’s X2, which of course also starred Hugh Jackman. Since then, it’s become the norm for these things to release three or perhaps four years after the last one. In recent times, the interconnectedness of the MCU has forced us to widen the definition of a sequel a little, but the record still stands. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 came six years after Vol. 2, to be fair, but that film was very much a sequel to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame so it’s a different kettle of fish — we only had to go four years without seeing the Guardians. Truly, no other Marvel sequel has taken its sweet time like Deadpool & Wolverine.

Of course, there is a very valid and unusual reason for DP3‘s tardiness; Disney’s Fox takeover happening a year after DP2 dropped meant that Marvel had to take some time to figure out how Deadpool could fit into both its storytelling plans and its release schedule. Finally, after all that hassle, the wait is almost over. If the gap between this one and Deadpool 4 is as long, though, then Jackman’s Logan is not the only one who’s going to break out into a berserker rage.