Deadpool and Wolverine prepare to fight in front of a background of them jumping into a portal

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s place in the Marvel timeline should be simple, but a cameo from Deadpool 2 makes it slightly more confusing. Deadpool is joining the MCU timeline in his upcoming film, but some parts will take place in Fox’s Marvel universe before he crosses over to Disney. It’s been six years since Deadpool 2, and director Shawn Levy says the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie will feature the same time jump. In an interview with Total Film (via Collider), Levy clarified when the film is set and Wade Wilson’s current status.

“It takes place six years after the last film. He’s proving to be useless at selling cars, hawking Blind Al’s blood-pressure meds to make rent, and his beloved Vanessa has a new boyfriend.”

It isn’t shocking that the film features a six-year gap from its predecessor. However, there is a cameo from Deadpool 2 that causes audiences to question what year that film took place. While the Fox universe’s timeline was a mess, this cameo causes plenty of confusion about Deadpool’s place in time if it is canon and not just a throwaway gag.

Deadpool 2’s X-Men Cameo Suggests The Film Is Not Set In The Present Day

The X-Men make a cameo in Deadpool 2

Deadpool 2 features a brief glimpse into Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Colossus tries to recruit Deadpool and brings him to the X-Mansion, where Wade wanders around and briefly borrows Xavier’s wheelchair. While arguing with Colossus, Wade complains that Fox can’t get the other X-Men to show up for his movies, right before it cuts to a room featuring James McAvoy’s Professor X, Nicholas Hoult’s Beast, Evan Peters’ Quicksilver, Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops, Alexandra Shipp’s Storm, and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Nightcrawler.

It’s a hilarious cameo, especially since that’s the only time these characters appear in the film. However, it does confuse Deadpool’s timeline. If McAvoy’s X-Men from Dark Phoenix is present in Deadpool 2, the film takes place at least in the 1990s. If it was set in the present day, the meeting room would have included Patrick Stewart’s Xavier, James Marsden’s Cyclops, and others from that timeline. The Deadpool 2 cameo is likely just a meaningless joke, but if it isn’t, that means Deadpool & Wolverine would start in either the late 1990s or mid-2000s.

Deadpool Could Still Join The MCU From A Different Point in Time

Even if the Deadpool 2 cameo messes up the timeline, it won’t affect Deadpool & Wolverine much. Deadpool is being kidnapped by the TVA, an organization that exists outside of time and space. The TVA can drop him anywhere they want within the MCU, so it won’t matter when they grab him within the Fox universe. In Loki, the TVA has the ability to travel to any point in time, whether it’s the 1800s, medieval times, or 2056. Deadpool can easily join the MCU in the present day, regardless of where the TVA picks him up.

This also leads to a theory that Deadpool & Wolverine could be a journey through various points in the MCU timeline. One Deadpool & Wolverine synopsis stated that Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will embark on a journey that “will change the history of the MCU.” That description suggests that the mutant duo will be traveling to iconic moments in the MCU and fixing certain things that will save the universe, but could affect other moments. Through the TVA’s technology, Deadpool and Wolverine can travel to any moment they want.

The Fox X-Men Timeline Never Mattered Much Anyway

Fox X-Men team standing by Cerebro in X-Men The Last Stand

Deadpool 2‘s X-Men cameo isn’t the only time that Fox’s universe has had a messy timeline. The universe constantly retcons itself, or doesn’t pay attention to continuity details. For example, the ending of X-Men: Days of Future Past erased the events of The Last Stand, resurrecting Jean Grey and Cyclops. X-Men: First Class to Dark Phoenix supposedly took place in the 1960s to the 1990s, however, none of the characters ever age, showing Fox paid little attention to whatever time period its films were in, besides making some references.

Fox played fast and loose with its timeline, which is why Deadpool 2’s cameo doesn’t matter overall. It’s a funny moment that audiences shouldn’t think about too much regarding how it affects Deadpool’s setting. The MCU does take continuity more seriously than Fox, but Deadpool & Wolverine can still reference events outside the timeline thanks to Deadpool’s ability to break the fourth wall.