It can't. It will be successful because it's Deadpool and Wolverine. It can kick off the X-Men portion. But it cannot reignite the MCU unless it gives a new villain for everyone to definitively latch on to.
I can't imagine Deadpool & Wolverine convincing people to watch the next 3 movies, Captain America, Thunderbolts, and Fantastic Four. But I can absolutely see a successful Captain America getting people to watch Thunderbolts and a string of good movies getting people to watch Fantastic Four.
I was worried when they said the initial script was essentially a Yelena movie. I just don't want them to mess up John Walker. He was SO GOOD in FatWS. And it would have been so easy to have made him a joke or a 1-dimensional villain.
She's the villain of this movie, she's definitely not Thanos or Kang level villain. And there are suspicion that even in this movie she's a fake out and there will be another villain replacing her. Either it's Doom and this movie starts him up like Avengers 1 did Thanos, or it's someone else and it won't be a Thanos level villain either.
Problem is, MCU being MCU they'll try to replicate it with different characters and it'll be a hot, embarrassing mess.
I don't think they can fuck up anything with Ryan in it anymore. He's tasted failure once already, and now has too much clout to be in something truly bad. But Marvel will try with something else.
The secret to Deadpool, in the movies anyway, is that he kills people. I mean, next to Iron Man and his snap, Deadpool is pretty generous in doling out death in a way no other film MCU "Hero" can get away with. I just don't think Marvel will be successful in replicating that, or the one-liners, the irreverence. But they'll try. And fail.
House/Powers of X could, if they have the nerve to present it un-modified.
House of X is a utopian and distopian take on black rights, trans rights, lgbtq rights and solidarity with the rest of us, in the face of asshole *isms, systemic oppression, and AI taking all of our jobs.
If Marvel doesn't pull any punches, they're sitting on a gold mine. The next X-Men film set could be a popoular rallying cry for a generation who are tired of watching loud rich assholes steer all public political discourse.
A few of Magneto's kills, alone, would be worth the price of the theater ticket, for the catharsis. Storm's big scene based on the reality that AI are prejudiced toward misunderstanding African American women would kick ass. Cyclops being a powerful destructive ass toward people who richly deserve it. Colosus and Wolverine reminding us how to negotiate with fascists... Emma Frost choosing mercy and also not choosing mercy. There's some great stuff, that could be movie magic.
I'm holding my Marvel Unlimited subscription close to my heart right now, because I might be a chicken shit ally a lot of the time, but at least I can vote with my wallet.
I don't think Disney will allow it, but I hold out faint hope that the meddler in chief in charge of the next few X-Men films might be (or choose to appear to be) too stupid to notice the real undertones.
Maybe if the mcu transitions to anthology style showings instead of saga based story telling. People are tired with grand narratives that require you to have watched like 20 other movies to understand everything going on reliably.
If Deadpool shows up in a Spidey movie, there's enough cultural saturation for the Audience to just get that it's Deadpool, skip the lore baiting and get to the Merc With the Mouth crossing wits with the Quip Thwipper. We're not here for the chapter of a greek epic, we're here to see a fun superhero movie! DC is making noises like they've begun to sniff this idea out.