I’m even more excited about Avengers: Secret Wars in Phase 6 after the release of Deadpool & Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s Marvel Studios debut firmly cemented 20th Century Fox’s former X-Men franchise as a clear part of the MCU, confirming their universe to be designated Earth-10005, while the MCU’s main continuity follows Earth-616, the Sacred Timeline. I loved this reveal, as it celebrated and paid homage to the two-decade long X-Men franchise, rather than berating it, but this also left me feeling a little confused.
Deadpool & Wolverine included many easter eggs and callbacks to Marvel’s history, and brought back a number of characters from previous Marvel movies to help Reynolds and Jackman’s titular heroes in their adventure. Some of these characters came from Earth-10005, which made sense to me, given the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine bridged the gap between Fox and Marvel Studios’ franchises. However, I was expecting the ending of Deadpool & Wolverine to go very differently for Earth-10005, but this might have actually been the best choice for the MCU.
The Fox X-Men Universe Is Still Intact After Deadpool & Wolverine
In the months leading up to Deadpool & Wolverine’s release, I theorized that the movie would bid a final farewell to Fox’s X-Men Universe, allowing Deadpool to join the MCU’s main timeline permanently. I was shocked when this didn’t happen. Cassandra Nova almost obliterated Earth-10005, and I thought that was just what was going to happen, but the combined strength of Deadpool and a shirtless Wolverine thwarted the sinister villain’s plan. With Nova seemingly dead, Earth-10005 was surprisingly left intact at the end of Deadpool & Wolverine.
All the heroes who made cameo appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine were returned to their home realities, and everyone seemed to live happily ever after. This was baffling to me, as I’d hoped that Deadpool would make the move to the MCU, Wolverine would be recast, and Fox’s former franchise would be destroyed, perhaps in a massive incursion event or due to the loss of its Anchor Being. Instead, Deadpool & Wolverine felt something like a standalone MCU movie, making me question whether Reynolds would return to the role at all.
Avengers 5 & 6 Can Be More Faithful To Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars Storyline Now
Even though I left the theater feeling a bit confused about Deadpool & Wolverine’s ending, upon further reflection, I think this was actually the perfect choice. This ending means that Marvel Studios can be much more faithful to Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars storyline when developing Phase 6’s Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In the comics, 2015’s Secret Wars saw a massive incursion between Earth-616 and the alternate Earth-1610 wipe out the multiverse, but in the MCU, this could occur between Earth-616 and Earth-10005.
John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic introduced the concept of incursions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , stating, “An incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide, destroying one or both entirely.”
This means that Deadpool & Wolverine’s open-ended final moments were deliberate, leaving Earth-10005 in existence so that Avengers: Secret Wars can feature its collision with Earth-616. Of course, this universe had to remain in existence for a while longer, as Wolverine won’t die until the 2029-set Logan, and there is also speculation that The Marvels’ post-credits scene takes place in Earth-10005 shortly after Deadpool & Wolverine. Featuring Earth-10005 in Phase 6’s Avengers movies would allow even more X-Men heroes to return in the MCU’s future, which makes me very excited.
I Want Secret Wars To End Earth-10005 For Good
I’ve certainly come around to the idea of Earth-10005 being around for a while longer, particularly since there seems to be more stories to tell before Deadpool officially joins the MCU. However, I don’t want this to be the case indefinitely. In fact, I would love for Earth-10005 to be destroyed during the events of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, as this would follow Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars storyline, especially if Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom forms Battleworld in the MCU’s Phase 6.
Indeed, incursions would also cause the destruction of the MCU’s primary continuity, but a new timeline could be established after Avengers: Secret Wars. There have been theories regarding a soft-reboot of the MCU after the Multiverse Saga, and I reckon this could see many heroes continue their journeys, while some fan-favorite or lesser-used actors and characters from Earth-10005, some of whom appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine, could also return permanently. Combining all these stories into one continuity seems to me like the best way forward for the MCU.
The Fox X-Men Universe Is Still Intact After Deadpool & Wolverine
