Everything You Need to Watch Before You Watch Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine is officially out, though many may be holding back from purchasing their tickets to answer the ultimate question: what do you need to watch to comprehend the plot points? Considering this is Deadpool's official debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's also bringing Wolverine into the mix (somehow), and it's also bringing its own story with the two previous Deadpool movies, it's a lot to digest... or is it?

It's worth noting that we are not going to be delving into spoiler territory for obvious reasons — if you're here, you just want to know what you need to have watched. And we've got you covered! This is as spoiler-free as you'll be able to get it. However, bear in mind that you can get spoilers from context, so if you really want to go in blind, you're better off just jumping into it. We're starting with...

Do You Need to Watch the X-Men Movies from Fox?

The X-Men films consist of a total of 13 different movies, starting from X-Men and ending in The New Mutants. We'll talk first about the original X-Men films before we move on to the prequels (X-Men: First Class onwards).

To put it simply (and spoiler-free), you won'treally have to watch any of these. Sure, there are some callbacks and cameos that you would certainly miss out on, but to understand the overarching plot, you don't need to watch any of the X-Men movies — I'd recommend going through them, but if this is the last thing you have to watch before getting into Deadpool & Wolverine, then you can safely skip it. There are touching moments that won't mean much to those who do take this path, but at the same time, you might want to just continue on your MCU journey, and that's entirely acceptable.

That said, there are major spoilers for everything in there, even the culmination of the Fox movies, Logan, where you'll learn everything that happened. If you want to watch them without knowing what transpires... well, I'd suggest starting from scratch. Back to X-Men with you!

X-Men: First Class and its prequels are in the same vein, though even less so than the originals. Disney avoided most to do with the prequels, and you won't be missing out on much. If you're not keen on the origins of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (also known as Magneto), you're good to go.

Do You Need to Watch the Previous Deadpool Movies?

Look,I know this might be a bit redundant but it'll definitely be important for someone out there to know.And as a surprising fact... no, you don't really need to watch either of the two Deadpool movies to comprehend what happens in this one.

Deadpool & Wolverine will obviously mean a lot more to those who love the two others, but interestingly, there aren't that many callbacks to what occurs. This is likely a strategic move coming from Disney, but you can start your journey from where you left off in the MCU without having to delve into Fox's mutant territory.

You will be missing some context regarding Deadpool's history over the last two movies — things get mentioned for those who know what transpired, but it'll be confusing at worst. If you want to pick up and watch this as your Deadpool origin story going into the movie, you'd be safe to do so. Though, for obvious reasons, this does includemajor spoilers for the two previous films, so you'll know a lot of what happens throughout the first and second.

Do You Need to Watch the MCU?

This is where it gets tricky. Obviously, this is Deadpool’s debut into the MCU, and it does bring a lot of callbacks to what happens throughout. To keep spoiler-free for the two people who haven't watched even the first Avengers (I see you), you will receive some spoilers as to what happens, but you won't be outright told the plotline thus far for all of those films.

That said, however, you will definitely want to have at least a basic understanding of the MCU's multiverse storyline. What this means is that you'll have to go through the Infinity saga (22 movies) and comprehend the events that transpire in one of the first Disney+ shows, Loki, at least to the end of the first season. An influential faction of characters makes prominent appearances to explain how Deadpool's going to be part of this universe without overwriting everything, and some of the areas in the world will be nonsensical if you haven't gone through the MCU.

If you're really not keen on watching all 22 movies in the Infinity saga, your best bet would be to watch the Loki show on its own, which can be possible, but you'll hear spoilers for everything that happens and a lot of context of the show will be missed. Essentially, I wouldn't recommend doing this, but if you're absolutely desperate, the only thing you need to know to comprehend Marvel's multiverse is Loki season one at the bare minimum. The location and rules specifically will not make a lot of sense, and the entire explanation of how they get there will be lost to many.

This is to be expected — Disney is looking to integrate Deadpool into its universe. Some MCU knowledge will be needed, even more so than things from the previous Fox history that Deadpool has all over it.