This is how Deadpool 3 fits into the MCU

Deadpool and Wolverine is out in cinemas now, and we finally know exactly when it takes place on the Marvel timeline. The threequel for the Deadpool franchise sees Ryan Reynolds’ foul-mouthed hero enter the MCU thanks to some multiversal shenanigans. He’s not alone, either, as the TVA are also back after first being introduced in Loki, as well as a certain clawed mutant named Wolverine.

Now, the fact that Deadpool 3 is part of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga should alert you to the fact that we’re in for a bit of a complex breakdown below. But fear not, we’ve shouldered the headache so you (hopefully) don’t have to. We’ve got all of the details you need to navigate the not-so-simple MCU timeline. So if you’re trying to make sense of everything from anchor beings to sacred timelines, you’re in the right place.

Naturally, we will be getting into some spoilers below though, so make sure you’ve seen the movie (or at least don’t mind spoilers) before scrolling on…

When does Deadpool and Wolverine take place on the Marvel timeline?

Early on in Deadpool and Wolverine, we see Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson head to Avengers HQ where he meets with Jon Favreau’s Happy about potentially joining the team. This happens on March 18, 2018 on the Sacred Timeline, which for context is after the events of Deadpool 2 in the 20th Century Fox universe, and after Thor: Ragnarok in the MCU. It’s about a year prior to Avengers: Infinity War.

Wade’s bid to join the team proves unsuccessful, before we skip six years ahead to Earth-10005. This means we’re roughly in March 2024, which is after Avengers: Endgame and before Spider-Man: Far From Home and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

At this point, the Merc with a Mouth is living a pretty quiet life as a used car salesman, having put his superhero days behind him. However, he’s soon pulled right back in when the TVA pluck him out of his timeline and tell him that he has only 72 hours to save his universe before it’s wiped out of existence.

The problem is that it has lost its ‘anchor being’, which means it is slowly dying. You see, the anchor being was none other than Wolverine. It’s confirmed that Wade is in the same universe as the X-Men – that’s Earth-10005, if you’re trying to keep track).

Things get a little complicated here as Logan technically takes place in 2029, so it doesn’t make sense that Wolverine is already dead at this point (or why X-23/Lauren is now grown-up). Logan was super decomposed, too, which suggests that he’s been in the ground for at least a year or so… We might have to chalk that one up to the technicalities of trying to bring the non-MCU movies into existing canon, as the rest of the movie’s events play out over just a couple of days.

That said, there’s every possibility that Logan’s story was happening on a different timeline within the same universe (Earth-10005, remember?).