James Mangold Describes Deadpool 3 as a Prequel for Logan

James Mangold is currently promoting his latest movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but he can’t escape the questions surrounding Deadpool 3. The Merc with a Mouth will officially arrive in the MCU next year with his third movie, after two successful entries at 20th Century Studios, which marked a before and after for R Rated comic book movies.

After the merger between Disney and the company that owns the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will grow with the arrival of these characters, and Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson will be one of the big stars within this new phase for the franchise.

But as if the addition of Deadpool’s violent tone and acid humor weren’t a big enough surprise for the MCU, Reynolds managed to get his friend and mutant universe fellow Hugh Jackman to return to play his legendary Wolverine once again, despite he said several times after the end of 2017’s Logan that he would not continue.

Fortunately for fans of Mangold’s film, one of the most acclaimed in the genre, Jackman’s return will not change Logan‘s timeline. Something that the Australian actor has made clear, and that the director himself also confirmed while recently being asked his opinion about the long-awaited movie.

Related: James Mangold Reveals Disney Ditched an R-Rated Star Wars Film

James Mangold Sees Deadpool 3 as a Prequel to Logan

Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused Podcast, the director again referred to the long-awaited third part of Wade Wilson’s story, after having confessed that he would have liked Logan to be Jackman’s last adventure as Wolverine:

“If it works, it works. And it’s not like the new movie Hugh and Ryan [Reynolds] are working on takes place after Logan. So, in a sense, they’re just making a prequel, if you will.”

Although the timeline of Deadpool 3 and Logan are not supposed to be related, Mangold’s interpretation could make sense if some rumors regarding the plot of the next MCU movie turn out to be true.

Various theories indicate that Reynolds’ character will travel to different realities, moving through the multiverse and intersecting with different versions of himself and Jackman’s hero, so he could even run into Mangold’s Wolverine before his death.

In fact, another relevant character in Logan was Patrick Stweart’s Xavier, and the acclaimed actor has expressed his desire to keep playing the leader of the X-Men in the future after returning in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

So Deadpool 3 could be a great opportunity for him and other former mutant stars such as Ian McKellen to return and be introduced into the MCU. Halle Berry was another actress rumored to be part of the film, so the possibility of many of the former X-Men stars to appear at least in brief cameos.

Deadpool 3 hits theaters on May 3, 2024, after being moved up from its former release date in November. The film is currently in production despite the writer’s strike.