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Deadpool & Wolverine has a lot of weight on its cinematic shoulders. It’s not only the first Deadpool movie made by Marvel Studios, it’s also a movie that brings Hugh Jackman back to the role of Wolverine after his much-publicized “final” movie as the character, 2017’s Logan, and it’s a movie that — judging from the trailers, at least — looks set to significantly advance the Multiverse Saga storyline of the larger MCU by bringing Fox’s X-Men movie timeline into MCU canon. Despite all of this, though, its director wants audiences to know: they don’t have to have watched any earlier movies to enjoy this new one.

“I was a good student in school. I’ll do my homework as an adult. But I am definitely not looking to do homework when I go to the movies,” Shawn Levy recently told the Associated Press. “I very much made this film with certainly a healthy respect and gratitude towards the rabid fan base that has peak fluency in the mythology and lore of these characters and this world. But I didn’t want to presume that. This movie is built for entertainment, with no obligation to come prepared with prior research.”

That doesn’t mean that the movie will overwrite anything that’s come before, however; Levy was upfront about the fact that the new movie is very much a continuation of what’s been established in the earlier Deadpool movies. “There was no way I was going to reinvent a wheel, a tonal wheel, that works so beautifully,” he explained. “Both Disney and Marvel, up and down the food chain, empowered Ryan and I to make this movie exactly as we dreamed.”

I mean, we’d like to think that the particularly curse-laden trailer might have made it clear that this was Deadpool as audiences knew him, but it’s nice to hear that confirmed by the people behind the camera as well…

Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters July 26, 2024.

Popverse has assembled everything you need to know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from our MCU watch order to a guide to upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows. Plus, we've taken the time to rank the entire MCU and compile the biggest outstanding questions from Marvel's connected films. Enjoy.