Deadpool & Wolverine Concept Art Reveals Marvel Comics Universe Almost Appeared in Film

Deadpool & Wolverine arrived in theaters nearly a month ago, taking fans on a wild ride throughout the Marvel multiverse — and apparently, that nearly included a surprising tribute to Marvel Comics. In a recent post on Instagram, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park revealed a piece of art he created in the very early days of Deadpool & Wolverine, in which Wade Wilson / Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) would have ended up in the literal universe of Marvel Comics. Park’s rendering of this potential scene presents Deadpool and the original six Avengers of the MCU each in their own distinct art style reminiscent of their most iconic comic artists. While Park did not confirm the exact references used, fans have speculated about everything from Bob Layton’s Iron Man to Jack Kirby’s Captain America to Sal Buscema’s Hulk.

“In my last post I was honoring my 1st boss (& creator of Deadpool) in @robliefeld,” Park’s caption reads. “This post I show you how I honored MANY comic book legends during preproduction on working on the DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE film before there was even a script. I pitched a fun idea where Deadpool would jump through multiverses and arrive at the MCU, Marvel COMICS Universe! And each character would exist in the art style of a legendary comic book artist. Each who have inspired me greatly! Can you name identify all of these legendary artists/creators? This piece (& more) will also be included in the upcoming The Art of Deadpool and Wolverine.”

Will Deadpool and Wolverine Return in the MCU?

Given Deadpool & Wolverine‘s multiversal bent and massive box office sucess, and the looming threat of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars in the coming years, fans have naturally wondered if Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will reprise their roles in the future. In an interview with Variety prior to the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, the duo were tight-lipped about what their onscreen futures might hold. 

“I don’t know,” Reynolds answered. “Yeah, we’ll see. Yeah.”

“Clearly, this is our first major interview of this press tour,” Jackman added. “I’m not sure how to answer.”

What Is Deadpool & Wolverine About?

In Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The film also stars Matthew Macfadyen as Paradox, and Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, with the return of Deadpool alums Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Rob Delaney as Peter, and Lewis Tan as Shatterstar. Aaron Stanford is returning as Pyro from the X-Men film series, with Jennifer Garner rumored to return as Elektra Natchios. 

Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey and Simon Kinberg serving as executive producers. Deadpool & Wolverine is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy. Deadpool & Wolverine was released exclusively in theaters on July 26th.