Summary

• Marvel's Wolverine will be a part of Insomniac's Marvel Universe.
• Marvel's Wolverine is set to maintain the serious tone set in the trailer, so a Deadpool cameo may feel out of place.
• Insomniac's Marvel games focus on world-building with Easter eggs, so it would be better to have a nod to Deadpool through these rather than a cameo.

When Marvel's Wolverine was announced back in September 2021 and was confirmed to be a part of Insomniac's Marvel Universe alongside the Marvel's Spider-Man games, it wasn't too long before people started speculating about what other Marvel characters Logan could run into on his adventure. After all, the Marvel's Spider-Man games, while primarily solo stories that focus on Peter Parker and Miles Morales, had plenty of Easter eggs for characters such as the Avengers, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, and more, so it seemed inevitable that Marvel's Wolverine would have nods to other mutants, most likely the X-Men.

Full disclosure here, I have read the Insomniac documents on Marvel's Wolverine that were shared online following the cyberattack on the studio last year. In the past, I have written about the fact that while there have been areas I have offered some critique on, I've enjoyed Insomniac's games in the past, and I don't condone the hack and feel sorry for everyone for those who were personally impacted by the security breach of personal staff documents as well.

However, it is part of my job to cover or at least be aware of these kinds of events as much as it can frustrate me too, when I'd much rather experience a game the way a studio intended me to. After all, in my experience, a lot of us got into writing about games because we are fans first and foremost, and that's why we often have so many opinions about them. Therefore, unfortunately, I do know which characters are planned to be in Marvel's Wolverine as of December 2023, but I also know a lot can be changed, added, or tweaked in seven months, especially when the studio has yet to provide any official footage or news surrounding the game since.

Fear not, I will not be spoiling which characters will be appearing in Marvel's Wolverine in this article.

You've Read The Title, You Know What I'm Going To Say

The Merc With A Mouth Needs To Stay Out Of Marvel's Wolverine For Now

The odds are that if you've clicked on this article, it's because you've read the headline - otherwise, I'm very confused as to how you got here - and, therefore, probably think I'm going to hate on Deadpool or something. So before I start, I want to make it very clear that I have no issue with the character. As a kid who started reading comics in the '90s, I grew up being aware of Deadpool even though I didn't start reading those comics until I was a bit older, probably shortly after his first gaming appearance in X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse when I was in my teens, and am very glad that as a character he is now finally seeing more mainstream success through the movies. I was there on opening night for all three films and had fun watching each one.

However, I know how easy it is for studios to follow trends, and if there's something successful and high profile, such as a major blockbuster, there's always the worry that someone will go, "Well, that worked for them, and they're making lots of money, so it's bound to work for us!" I don't think this will happen with Insomniac, as the Marvel Spider-Man games have largely done their own thing outside of a small crossover moment with the Spider-Verse movies, but those weren't too disruptive. Deadpool, on the other hand, practically exists to be disruptive with his fourth wall breaks and more chaotic nature in most cases.

The Deadpool game had a bunch of X-Men cameos, including Wolverine, but because it was framed through the lens of Deadpool's zaniness and insanity, it was easier to play them off as straight-laced characters in comedic situations bouncing off Deadpool's humor. Marvel's Wolverine's reveal trailer, however, has already set up a tone that was extremely befitting a grittier, solo Wolverine adventure, and follow-up announcements regarding the hiring of Spec Ops: The Line writer Walt D. Williams to pen the game's story confirmed it would be aiming primarily for a more "mature tone."

Therefore, I feel that while Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine movie has been successful - and I certainly had a blast watching it as someone who grew up with the pre-MCU movies - adding Deadpool to the Marvel's Wolverine game, even as a cameo, would be a mistake as he would most likely mess with the tone too much. Alternatively, if Insomniac opted to have a more serious version of the character, this would likely receive backlash from those more accustomed to him being heavily comedic - even if he can have extremely serious and emotional moments as a character, especially in the earlier comics or stories involving his daughter and other loved ones. Either way, there doesn't seem like a way in which everyone wins.

Insomniac Has Proven It Doesn't Need Lots Of Cameos In Its Marvel Universe

But It Can Still Nod To Other Characters Through Its Worldbuilding

At this point, Insomniac has proven that it doesn't need major cameos in its Marvel Universe stories and has done a good job at world-building through Easter eggs and collectibles such as Peter's backpacks in the first Marvel's Spider-Man game - although I did find it a bit odd that there's no sign of the Avengers in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 when an alien invasion is happening in the city in which Avengers Tower is located as surely that seems like a threat they should be getting involved with... or S.H.I.E.L.D at the very least like in Web of Shadows. I wouldn't have any issue with Marvel's Wolverine referencing Deadpool in this way to pay respect to the fanbase who love seeing Wolverine and Deadpool's team-ups and interactions.

I also wouldn't have an issue if Insomniac did a crossover down the line after setting up more of its universe in which Deadpool appears, as the focus wouldn't be on telling a mature Wolverine story, and it could be its own thing. After all, Deadpool as a character is practically made to be in gaming with his set of skills, so it only seems right he should show up again in a game at some point... Just not right now.

While there hasn't been any official word from Insomniac about Marvel's Wolverine for quite some time, hopefully, this will change soon, as it will be coming up three years since the game's announcement in September. While the leaks are out there for those who have wanted to see plenty of what the game has to offer - or at least, what was planned up until December 2023 - it would be nice to see a proper cinematic trailer or a full gameplay sequence as Insomniac intended it to be seen, whether that reveals any of the other more surprising ing cast additions or not.