Where Does Deadpool 2 Fit In The X-Men Timeline?
I know, this way lies madness, but as superhero movie nerds, it’s our duty to try and work out where Deadpool 2 fits in as part of the wider X-Men universe. The first film carefully sidestepped the issue, even poking fun at it by having DP comment that “these timelines are so confusing.” Deadpool 2, however, might have picked a side.
In one of the movie’s best moments, a bunch of X-Men make silent cameos behind an oblivious Wade at the X-Mansion. It’s a hilarious scene but we’re not sure it actually makes any sense. The likes of McAvoy’s Professor X, Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops and Alexandra Shipp’s Storm all look just as they will in Dark Phoenix, which is set in the 1990s. Even though Deadpool 2 is, presumably, set in 2018.
Another piece of evidence that supports Deadpool 2 being part of the prequel movie timeline is the fact that he travels back to X-Men Origins: Wolverine and comments that he’s just fixing the timelines. On the other hand, Wade is also aware of the events of Logan, which happen in their own timeline in the near future. And, just to complicate things even further, Cable’s future bears a strong resemblance to the original dystopian timeline depicted in X-Men: Days of Future Past, which would put Deadpool 2 on that initial timeline.
Maybe the present day scenes of the sequel are set in the post-Future Past timeline, then, but Cable’s time-spinner actually allows you to cross timelines, which is how the movie also references various other versions of continuity. Then again, maybe this is just a comedy film and we shouldn’t think about things too much? Yeah, let’s go with that. Our head’s starting to hurt, anyways.