It may have been over a month since Deadpool & Wolverine hit the big screen, but the film continues to dominate the box office. In addition to its exciting storyline and shocking cameos, the threequel is filled with many Easter eggs, varying from meta-jokes to different pop cultures. With that being said, director Shawn Levy confirmed a major Hugh Jackman-related reference fans might have missed.
In a post on X, Levy revealed how Deadpool & Wolverine gave a nod to Jackman’s movie Les Misérables. The third Deadpool film featured Prisoner 24601, known as Jean Valjean, in the epic period musical based on Victor Hugo’s renowned novel and directed by Tom Hooper. This number was seen on the roof of Logan’s mouth on the skull.
“Anyone else spot 24601 on the roof of Logan’s mouth on the skull?” he captioned his post. “Crazy attention to detail! Prisoner 24601, aka Jean Valjean, in Les Misérables, is played by Hugh Jackman in the 2012 movie.”
In addition, Levy unveiled that Prisoner 24601 was referenced in David Leitch’s 2018 film Deadpool 2. While hand-drawing a map outlining the X-Force’s attack on the convoy that contained Russell Collins, a doodled image of Wolverine imprisoned was seen and pointed out as Prisoner 24601.
“Of course, Deadpool’s doodled map in Deadpool2 in 2018 featured our hero 24601, too!” he continued.
Deadpool & Wolverine Joins MCU’s Biggest Box Office Hits
Since its release on July 25, Deadpool & Wolverine has broken several box office records. The film continuously climbs the global box office rankings, earning $614 million in the US alone and another $673 million internationally, totaling a whopping $1.29 billion. With these earnings, it has overtaken the live-action Beauty and the Beast remake and the first Frozen movie at the global box office, becoming the 22nd-highest film of all time.
It’s also now the highest-grossing R-rated movie and the biggest film of the lead stars Ryan Reynolds and Jackman. Of course, it also joins MCU’s top-grossing films of all time, ranking No. 7 following Black Panther’s $1.3 billion, Avengers: Age of Ultron’s $1.4 billion, The Avengers’ $1.5 billion, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $1.9 billion, Avengers: Infinity War’s $2 billion, and Avengers: Endgame’s $2.7 billion.
Deadpool & Wolverine has helped Marvel Studios regain its footing after several box-office flops in 2023. As the film appears to break the superhero fatigue, the studio's upcoming releases may also become big hits.
