Karan Soni, who plays Dopinder in Deadpool and its sequel, says that the MCU needs Deadpool & Wolverine to keep the franchise interesting to audiences. Dopinder is returning in Deadpool & Wolverine, potentially driving the heroes around as they fight Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). Soni is one of several actors from the original Deadpool movies to make the move to the MCU, including Leslie Uggams, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, and Shioli Kutsuna.

Karan Soni recently sat down with Us Weekly to discuss his return in Deadpool & Wolverine. The actor couldn't give anything away about the film's plot, but he did state the importance of the movie in the wider context of the MCU. The actor also credited the film's delays to its phenomenal quality, saying that director Shawn Levy used the delays to fine-tune the script. Soni said:

"It's a long time coming, but it was one of those things — where because it was such a long time — it's gotten really good. The script was really good. It was in a very good place… There was a version of [the script] before Hugh Jackman said yes. Because they waited because he said yes — I think it's all the things combining and I think it's coming at the right time for the MCU, which is in need of something fresh. And I would not bet against Ryan."

Deadpool 3 Was Overhauled Thanks to Hugh Jackman's Return

A third Deadpool movie was almost inevitable. The only roadblock was working out how to bring him into the MCU. Soni's reveal that there was a version of the script without Hugh Jackman correlates with Levy's previous comments about how much Hugh Jackman's return changed the course of the movie.

Speaking to EW, Shawn Levy said that the entire project had to be overhauled after Hugh Jackman decided he wanted to return to the role. Jackman first played the iconic Marvel character in X-Men (2000). Deadpool & Wolverine will be his 10th outing as Wolverine. Many fans thought they'd never see Hugh Jackman return, given the character's fate in Logan. Levy said:

"Everything changed radically on the day that Hugh called Ryan. We had been workshopping a lot of ideas about possible stories for a third Deadpool movie. Those were story ideas that were more sequelly to the first two Deadpools, but none of them imagined such a seismic shift. I can safely say that the story completely changed and, in fact, came to us very, very quickly starting that day."

Fans are hoping that Deadpool & Wolverine can help the MCU bounce back after some rocky releases. Marvel Studios' Phase 5 has seen some underwhelming releases, both critically and commercially. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a major success, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania was critically panned, and The Marvels underperformed at the box office, with the MCU also battling against so-called 'superhero fatigue'. As a result, the studio has slowed down their release schedule. Deadpool & Wolverine is the only MCU movie releasing this year.