Deadpool & Wolverine's Super Bowl Teaser Reaction: The R-Rated Humor and TVA Upgrade Have Us Hooked

This first look at Deadpool and Wolverine aired during Super Bowl 2024 and showed up on Ryan Reynolds's YouTube channel disguised as a birthday video, opening with what looks like a normal message: "happy birthday to you... it's been a challenging few years for sure but I'm happy... make a wish." That setup flips the moment Deadpool wakes up in what appears to be TVA custody, and a TVA agent with an English accent tells him, "Mr. Wilson you appear to have soiled yourself while unconscious," to which Deadpool replies, "I wasn't unconscious." The agent then says, "you are special, this is your chance to be a hero among heroes," before adding, "I smell what you're stepping in Sensei, your little Cinematic Universe is about to change forever." Deadpool answers by declaring himself "the Messiah" and "Marvel Jesus."

Our overall reaction is that this teaser nails exactly what we wanted from the character. As soon as the pegging joke landed, "pegging isn't new for me friendo but it is for Disney," we reacted with "oh my God I'm dead," along with relief that the irreverent, R-rated tone survived the move into the MCU. We also pointed to a moment we compared to when JJ Abrams kept denying that his Star Trek villain was Khan before it turned out to be Khan anyway, noting that even though Ryan Reynolds had already said publicly that the studio wasn't going to hold him back, it's still reassuring to actually see that promise pay off on screen.

The Title Change to Deadpool and Wolverine Signals a Real Pairing

We were glad the project is being called Deadpool and Wolverine rather than Deadpool 3, saying it shows this isn't just another solo sequel but a genuine pairing of the two characters. That title change, paired with the teaser itself, put a lot of our concerns to rest about how the character would be handled once he crossed into the MCU.

The TVA Looks Upgraded, and It May or May Not Get Explained

The version of the TVA shown in the teaser looked visibly upgraded to us compared to what we've seen before, and it reminded us of Power Rangers, where the TV show version of a villain looked very different once the movie version arrived. We're not sure whether the story will bother explaining the specifics of this TVA or which timeline it belongs to, or whether it will simply move forward without dwelling on that. Either way, we think Deadpool fits naturally into this setup because he breaks the fourth wall, can bring mutants into the picture, and is now openly acknowledging his own arrival in the MCU.

Calling Himself "Marvel Jesus" Might Not Just Be a Joke

Deadpool calling himself the Messiah and "Marvel Jesus" is played as a joke in the teaser, but we floated that it might actually be true given how things are going for the franchise right now, pointing to The Marvels not performing well and Loki season 2 being enjoyable but still feeling like a quieter, underappreciated release. Against that backdrop, we see this as something the franchise needs to shake things up.

Keeping Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Mostly Hidden Was the Right Call

The teaser only shows a glimpse of what looked like Wolverine's hair from behind in a casino-type setting, and a brief look at part of Deadpool's suit, without ever showing Hugh Jackman properly or any interaction between the two characters. We thought that restraint was a smart choice, leaving us wanting more rather than giving away the pairing itself, even though we noted that a lot of related material had already leaked online elsewhere.

What did you make of the glimpse of Wolverine, and do you think the upgraded TVA will actually get explained on screen?