Why were X-Men deaths not shown in Deadpool & Wolverine? Director explains

Deadpool & Wolverine was finally released in theatres on July 26, 2024, and featured the return of Ryan Reynolds as the Merc With the Mouth. Hugh Jackman also made his return as Wolverine after previously retiring from playing the character in Logan (2017). The film saw them go on a multiversal trip that got them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One of the biggest draws of Deadpool & Wolverine was that it finally brought these two major characters into the MCU. However, while the original version of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine died in Logan (2017), this new version of the character was cherry-picked from the multiverse, and he has got a dark past.

In this Wolverine's universe, all the X-Men died brutal deaths. While the deaths themselves were not shown to the audience, fans got to learn how they died. In a recent interview with Collider, director Shawn Levy explained exactly why they decided not to show those deaths in the film.

"We ended up doing it with a soundscape and with sound design. We did talk about it. But ultimately, it felt like the specifics of those characters' deaths don't matter to this story as much as the way they haunt Logan. And so we chose to keep the focus on him," said Levy.

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How did the X-Men die in Deadpool & Wolverine?

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Wade Wilson finds a multiversal version of Logan, who has gone through a lot. The catch with this universe's Wolverine is that he failed his world and let his X-Men die, which basically made him hated by everyone. The X-Men shared some brutal fates, which is explained later in the film by Logan himself.

Eventually, it is revealed that the X-Men died not due to attacks from some supervillain but rather from humans. Due to mutant hate rising, an attack on the X-Mansion was orchestrated, which ended up killing the X-Men. All the while, Wolverine wasn't there to save them and was out getting drunk.

How the X-Men fell to humans is a question that remains unanswered, but this pretty much sets up Logan's arc in Deadpool & Wolverine. Constantly questioning whether he is a hero or not, the film sees him embrace that savior side of him in the third act.

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Wolverine wearing his yellow suit has a thematic reasoning

Deadpool & Wolverine goes a step beyond and finally puts Hugh Jackman in the iconic yellow suit from the comics. The film also adds a thematic reasoning to it, which Ryan Reynolds revealed in the interview with Collider.

"Now, I love that we kind of use the suit as a hair shirt, you know, as a kind of penance that he's wearing this thing that is like a, you know, a punishment that covers this body," Reynolds revealed.

It basically means that Logan wears the Wolverine suit as a reminder of how he let people down. The journey of coming to terms with that event is what defines his character in the film.

You can check out Deadpool & Wolverine right now as it is playing in theatres.