Deadpool & Wolverine ending explained – who joins the MCU?

The movie follows Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as they join forces to save their universe as a villain within the Time Variance Authority (TVA) named Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) attempts to destroy it.

Wondering how it all unfolds and who looks set to appear again in the MCU going forward? Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of Deadpool & Wolverine. But be warned: spoilers obviously follow.

Alternatively, if you're wondering whether the movie has a post-credits scene, then you can check out our article on that.

Deadpool & Wolverine ending explained: What happens to Logan?

The film picks up six years after the events of Deadpool 2, and finds Wade Wilson now working as a car salesman with his friend Peter (Rob Delaney), having given up the superhero game when his desperate request to join the Avengers was greeted with a hard "no" by Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau).

But while he's celebrating his birthday with those closest to him – including Blind Al (Lesley Uggams) and his former fiancée Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) – he is approached by a group of agents from the TVA and taken to meet a slightly shady man named Mr Paradox.

Paradox offers him the chance to achieve his dream of joining the "sacred timeline", but it comes at a cost: Wade's own universe is in danger of extinction due to the death of its anchor being – Logan, AKA Wolverine.

This revelation prompts Wade to search the multiverse for another variant of Wolverine, and after several fruitless attempts he finally picks a deeply troubled one, who so happens to be known as the worst of the lot.

Anyway, after arriving back with this Wolverine, the pair are both banished by Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) to a Mad Max-inspired wasteland known as the Void, where they soon find themselves up against Professor X's evil twin sister Cassandra Nova.

After escaping Cassandra's lair, Wade and Logan come across a band of Void resistance members made up of classic Marvel characters Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and X-23 (Dafne Keen) – and join forces with them to descend on Cassandra Nova's lair.

Their plan is to use Juggernaut's helmet to force her to let them get back to Wade's timeline, but the plan is somewhat complicated when Pyro (Aaron Stanford) shoots at Cassandra and it is revealed he has been working for Paradox the whole time.

Among the chaos, Wade is convinced by Logan to remove the helmet from Cassandra, and she repays them for this act by opening up an Inter-Dimensional portal using a sling ring she'd taken from a Doctor Strange variant, allowing them to return.

But things are only getting started. Back in Wade's timeline, it is revealed that Paradox is using a device called a Time Ripper to get rid of the timelines he has no use for, including this one.

Meanwhile, everything gets even more hectic when Cassandra arrives from the Void to take control of the Time Ripper – her aim being to destroy the entire multiverse with the exception of the Void.

She's also brought along with her a vast army of Deadpool variants, who do battle with Wade and Logan, although they are eventually able to escape thanks to the arrival of Peter – who is loved by Deadpool in every timeline.

They then scamper to Paradox's base in an attempt to shut down the Time Ripper before it is too late and learn that the only way of doing so is to short-circuit it by creating an energy bridge with their own bodies – which comes with an enormous risk of death.

Deadpool and Wolverine argue over who will be the one to make the sacrifice, but the former is eventually the one to do so, swatting aside Logan's claims that he should do it as, unlike Wade, he has no one who would miss him.

But shortly after Deadpool starts the process, Wolverine too joins in – with the pair holding hands and causing the destruction of both the Time Ripper and Cassandra.

After they have saved the day, Paradox tries to claim ignorance of the whole plan, but no one believes him and he is taken into custody by Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku).

How did Deadpool and Wolverine survive the Time Ripper?

While stopping the Time Ripper was certainly a risky move, because Deadpool and Wolverine sacrificed themselves together, they took the force of the explosions together.

This meant that they shared the load and were therefore able to survive.

Who dies in Deadpool & Wolverine?

The film doesn’t actually provide a definitive answer on this front, but it’s safe to assume that Cassandra Nova dies as the Time Ripper is destroyed.

Of course, it’s possible that a variant of Cassandra Nova could make an appearance in an upcoming MCU movie, but the iteration of the character shown in Deadpool & Wolverine has certainly met her end.

Asked whether their character dies, Emma Corrin told GQ in a new interview: "I mean, does anyone die in the MCU? I feel like if this film proves anything, it's that you can literally bring back absolutely anyone.

"So maybe one day I'll be pulling a Hugh and pulling over on the side of the road saying, 'I’ve got to do it!'"

Meanwhile, there are some other minor deaths, like Sabretooth and Cassandra's other various X-Men goons, as well as various TVA agents.

Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch (Chris Evans), also meets an unfortunate end in the film as he's skinned alive by Cassandra.

Who ends up in the MCU at the end of Deadpool & Wolverine?

Of course, throughout the film we see various characters from years gone by appearing and in some cases playing key roles – so will any of them stick around and appear again in the MCU going forwards?

Well, in the case of these variants of Elektra, Gambit and Blade, it seems unlikely – especially given a new version of the latter is set to be played by Mahershala Ali in an upcoming film. Deadpool did ask the TVA if the gang could be recruited, and was told in response that they would see what was possible, but we'd be surprised if they're back in more substantial roles.

The same may not be true of X-23, who is seen attending a party at Wade's place in the final scene of the film, so we could possibly expect to see her joining the MCU on a more permanent basis in the future – we'll keep abreast of all the latest developments.

As for this Logan variant, he stays in Wade's timeline and is seen to become part of Deadpool's core friendship group, even being introduced to Blind Al. He was initially determined to go back and change his past, but comes to realise that his previous troubles are what allowed him to become so important, and that he needn't change anything.

The door is therefore certainly left open for seeing more of the character in the future, while we're also sure that Deadpool isn't going anywhere now that he's finally officially joined the MCU. Indeed, at various points – think that Thor flash-forward – it's hinted that he could have a very important role to play from here on out.

Watch this space...

Deadpool & Wolverine is now showing in UK cinemas.

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