Despite its irreverent tone and constant fourth-wall breaks, Deadpool & Wolverine set up a lot of interesting possibilities for the MCU, particularly ones that could serve the narrative of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Among some of them were the Secret Wars comic book tease, a new Wolverine making his way into the Fox X-Men universe, and—perhaps most importantly—the concept of heroes and villains from past, non-MCU Marvel franchises being trapped in the Void location introduced in the Disney+ Loki series.
At one point in the film, various vehicles driven by henchpeople working for Cassandra Nova made their way to Deadpool and Wolverine to capture them. One of the rides featured a blue Avengers flag vandalized with a black anarchy symbol emblazoned across the heroes' logo. At the time, it seemed to be simply the villains of the Void having fun with whatever piece of Marvel history they could find. However, in August 2025, Ryan Reynolds sent comic book nerds into speculation overdrive when he posted a picture of that same symbol combination... but with a design twist.
Unlike the previous logo shown, the flag was black, and the anarchy logo red. At the time, it was difficult to figure out what that could possibly mean (and to be fair, it still is). However, we may have a major clue regarding the nature of the symbol. And, as it turns out, it could mean that past Marvel franchises are going to become relevant once again in a major—and very unexpected—way. Scooper Alex Perez from The Cosmic Circus posted a cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter), stating:
"And as the multiverse draws closer to its end, its fate and all of those who lived in it will rest in the hands of those who started it all."
When a user asked Perez if the event referenced in his tweet would occur in Doomsday or Secret Wars, he replied with the image mentioned above:
That is the exact same image Reynolds posted earlier in 2025. But what could that possibly mean? Okay, first, let's assume this tease is accurate to future events in the MCU. Having done that, interpreting Perez's cryptic message, it seems he's saying that, as the multiverse begins to collapse, the responsibility of saving it will be in the hands of characters from Marvel franchises that existed before the MCU came into play.
Some of the heroes that fit that description are Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, Jennifer Garner's Elektra, Wesley Snipes' Blade, Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider, Eric Bana's Hulk, and the rest of the original X-Men cast (which are confirmed to be in Avengers: Doomsday). If the aforementioned interpretation of Perez's posts is correct, this could be a monumental development for the MCU, as, ultimately, the franchise's own heroes wouldn't be the ones to save the multiverse. Instead, the protagonists of the House of Ideas' previous cinematic endeavors would be the ones to accomplish such a feat.
Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have been heavily rumored as being important parts of both upcoming Avengers movies (Forbes recently went as far as to state the latter two would indeed be in them). Putting our conspiracy hats on, that could be what Ryan Reynolds was teasing with the Avengers/anarchy flag he posted all those months ago.
Speaking to Collider in September 2025, Reynolds actually explained why he posted the picture, and took the opportunity to tease something bigger on the way with his signature sense of humor:
"The thing I posted on social, that is actually a variant of the flag that we use in Deadpool & Wolverine. It was my favorite. For some reason, you watch a movie later that has that many alts and all that stuff, and you go, 'Why didn't I choose that one? There were five other great jokes for that.' That's how it works, and that was just a flag. I just came across it, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, I loved that flag. The red and black vibe.' And then, you know, there's always talk. We're figuring out what's next in that world and blah, blah, blah."
Fellow geeks, please remember this is just a rumor. Let's do that together. Nevertheless, I cannot help to feel giddy about the prospect of the heroes of Marvel past stopping Doctor Doom's evil schemes when all else fails. Picture it: Everyone's M.V.P. Tobey Maguire Spider-Man helping pull the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the brink of collapse. It would be a sight to behold.
Having said that, as mentioned, it's still important to keep a cool head about things, instead of building up unreasonable expectations in our minds over a rumor. It's difficult, I know, but we have to do it. For now, we will have to wait less than a year to find out whether or not this purported piece of information actually relates to what's in store for us in the franchise's ambitious two-parter.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars will then be released on December 17, 2027.
What do you make of this tease? Would you like to see past Marvel heroes saving the MCU? Drop your thoughts in the comments!