This month, Ryan Reynolds is finally bringing Marvel's most popular antihero, Deadpool, to theaters for the first time ever (OK, technically it's the second time, but I refuse to believe that X-Men Origins: Wolverine really happened and wasn't some terrible nightmare), and fans are curious as to where the Merc With a Mouth fits in with the rest of Fox's X-Men universe. After all, this is the first X-Men movie since Days of Future Past premiered nearly two years ago, and in a world where Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe churns out two to three films every year, that's a long time to go between movies. So where did X-Men leave off, and where does Deadpool begin?
You may be under the impression that Deadpool isn't all that related to X-Men: Days of Future Past because the bulk of that film takes place mostly in 1973, with only flashes to a dreary future set roughly ten years from the present day in real life. But since the original trilogy of X-Men movies were set roughly in the future as well, as opposed to the present day, then it stands to reason that the future depicted in Days of Future Past is basically the present in the X-Men universe as fans know it. Make sense?
Now, going back to the original trilogy, that series ended with X-Men: The Last Stand, a film which memorably (and controversially) killed off a bunch of main characters like Professor X, Cyclops, and Jean Grey, leaving the present day (AKA the near future in real life) in disarray. But at the end of Days of Future Past, that timeline was reset thanks to Wolverine helping save mutants from the Sentinels back in 1973. All your favorites are now alive and well in the present timeline (which doesn't really make sense, but whatever) and everything seems happy in X-Men land. Professor X is running the School For Gifted Youngsters again, and all the X-Men you remember are there, like Storm, Beast, Rogue, and even Cyclops and Jean Grey. So what does this mean for Deadpool ?
As far as I can tell, Deadpool takes place in the present day. Or rather, it takes place in the present day in the X-Men universe, meaning our near future. How do I know this? Because the X-Men exist in Deadpool's universe, and even make appearances in the film by way of two characters: Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. The former has shown up sparingly in a few X-Men films, and he is around at the conclusion of Days of Future Past. He's different here though, as he's much larger and is Russian, putting him closer in line with the comics' version of the character. He also has a new uniform, and according to the trailers, he's a more established X-Man. So established, in fact, that he has a trainee.
Negasonic Teenage Warhead is Colossus's pupil in Deadpool , making her an X-Man in training. And since this marks the first appearance of the character, it's safe to say that Deadpool takes place after Days of Future Past's ending. So, fans should assume that in Deadpool, the X-Men, including big guns like Professor X, Wolverine, and Storm, are all alive and well. Just don't expect to see any of them.
Images: 20th Century Fox; giphy.com
