Deadpool 3: Do New Set Photos Tease a Major Tie to Loki?

Deadpool 3 has essentially been breaking the Internet this week, with an officially-released photo revealing the first look at stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in costume. Deadpool 3 will be the saga's first film produced by Marvel Studios, and the question of how the film will handle that new canon has been on many fans' minds. A new set photo released on Monday night teased a pretty unique connection to the Deadpool films' previous mythos — but it might have a weird connection to Marvel Studios' Loki series in the process.

How Would Deadpool 3 Tie to Loki?

The set photo shows Reynolds' Deadpool and Jackman's Wolverine fighting in front of a giant 20th Century Fox logo, representing the studio that made the previous Deadpool and X-Men movies. But the location of this scene — in a desert field — could possibly be a connection to Loki. More specifically, the setting could be the same as The Void, the liminal space that is occupied with the things that the Time Variance Authority decides to prune. When Loki showcased the space in the penultimate episode of its first season, it showed everything from the Qeng Enterprises tower to Frog Thor to a giant Yellowjacket head.

While the 20th Century Fox logo would be one of the more meta objects to make it into the void, it would work in the context of the TVA seeing it as something needing to be pruned. This narrative choice could also easily help explain how Deadpool, Wolverine, and whatever other characters move from the "FoxVerse" to the setting of Deadpool 3 — they got pruned.

Is Deadpool 3 in the MCU?

Following Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox, Marvel Studios has been gradually folding the X-Men characters into the MCU, beginning with Deadpool 3. According to Reynolds, the movie's grounding in the franchise presents a fun new challenge.

"Deadpool, for me, is kind of like an anxiety inducing tightrope walk," Reynolds previously told ComicBook.com. "I always think when I've got Deadpool just right, I'm speaking from experience from Deadpool 1 & 2, that I need to make it 30 to 40% percent better than it already it is. Even if I'm at the moment where I'm like, 'This is perfect, this moment!' Then, I stop and I go, 'Okay, this has to be 30% better than it already is.' It's a stressful thing to get right, or at least right as far as I'm concerned. So, no, I never really thought about it but I did love the idea of playing with Deadpool and Korg in some of the marketing materials given the fact that Taika [Waititi] and I are in the movie. So, I kinda got to scratch the itch, inevitably anyway."

Who Is in the Cast of Deadpool 3?

Deadpool 3 will be directed by Levy, with a script written by Bob's Burgers' Wendy Molyneaux and Lizzie Molyneaux-Loeglin, with Deadpool and Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick reportedly also returning to contribute to the script. Deadpool 3 will also star Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, and Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen in currently-unknown roles. Jennifer Garner will be reprising her role as Elektra.

What do you think of the newest set photos for Deadpool 3? Do you think the movie will tie into Loki? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Deadpool 3 is currently set to be released exclusively in theaters on May 3, 2024.