DiGiorno 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Pizzas Review: This Unique Collaboration Is A Blockbuster Hit!

In the lead-up to the premiere of Marvel's "Deadpool & Wolverine" in theaters on July 26, 2024, DiGiorno is releasing a quartet of frozen pizzas in collaboration with the superhero flick. Each pizza is themed around a character or moment from the upcoming film or a past entry in the "Deadpool" franchise. The Wade Special, for example, references Deadpool's (Ryan Reynolds') civilian name, Wade Wilson, and is topped with the same combination of ingredients on a pizza he orders in the first movie.

Altogether, DiGiorno and the "Deadpool & Wolverine" movie collaborated on three pizzas in addition to The Wade Special: Gimme Chimi, Spicy Wolvie Pie, and Maximum Pep. Furthermore, the duo is also hosting a giveaway with a range of prizes and temporarily redesigning the packaging of two of the Rising Crust products.

Here's everything Marvel heads and frozen pizza aficionados should know about the four "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizzas leading the charge in this brand team-up, as well as my personal reviews after trying each one.

Read more: Frozen Pizzas, Ranked From Worst To Best

What's On Each DiGiorno 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Pizza?

Of the four DiGiorno "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizzas, The Wade Special holds the unique distinction of approximating a type of pizza that factors directly into a scene from the "Deadpool" franchise. Like the very pizza Wade Wilson orders in a flashback sequence, The Wade Special is topped with a combination of pineapple and olives. The Gimme Chimi pizza is a reference to Deadpool's affinity for the word "chimichanga" throughout the films and comics alike. It's topped with cheddar, mozzarella, beef, jalapeño, and a spicy cumin sauce, and meant to taste a bit like a chimichanga.

Of the four pizzas that make up this collaboration, the Spicy Wolvie Pie is the least themed around an overt movie reference, instead attempting to invoke a general aura that represents Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). It's loaded with a blend of meats that includes pepperoni, chorizo and bacon. Finally, the Maximum Pep pizza is a play on Deadpool's "maximum effort" catchphrase that he invokes in high-intensity situations. It's jam-packed with both sliced and diced pepperoni. All four pizzas are made on DiGiorno's classic crust.

How Much Do DiGiorno's 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Pizzas Cost And How Long Will They Be Available?

The manufacturer's suggested retail price for each of DiGiorno's collaborative "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizzas is $6.49. DiGiorno pizzas are available at a wide variety of retailers including Albertsons, Target, Walmart, and even Amazon, so there's likely a store that stocks the products close to practically anyone in the U.S. That said, the availability and price of the "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizzas depend on individual stores, so it might be worth checking online before setting out to find one of these pizzas in-person.

DiGiorno debuted its "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizzas in June, without providing a specific start date — it's likely the rollout will continue through to the end of June as opposed to the pizzas becoming available nationwide all at once. Beyond specifying that they're around for a limited time, DiGiorno also has yet to list an end date for their availability. That said, a collaborative "Deadpool & Wolverine" prize giveaway lasts until August 26, so the pizzas will likely remain in stores through August too, roughly coinciding with the theatrical run of "Deadpool & Wolverine," which kicks off on July 26.

How Are The 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Pizzas Different From Standard DiGiorno Pizzas?

The extent to which each "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizza resembles a permanent item in DiGiorno's extensive lineup varies from product to product. Unsurprisingly, the Maximum Pep is the closest in composition to an existing DiGiorno pizza — while plenty of the company's products include pepperoni, it's most similar to the Rising Crust Ultimate Pepperoni pizza, given the preponderance of the same signature ingredient in each. That said, the Ultimate Pepperoni pizza is topped solely with sliced pepperoni, lacking the diced alternative on the Deadpool variant. Meanwhile, the Spicy Wolvie Pie is a play on a meat lover's style of pizza, which DiGiorno sells in abundance. The chorizo is the unique addition to Wolverine's take on the classic.

Pineapple, for what it's worth, is available on an existing Hawaiian-style DiGiorno pizza, but the combination of pineapple and olives is wholly new to the DiGiorno universe. Unsurprisingly, the Gimme Chimi is unique in more than one key way, though it's preceded by adventurous seasonal offerings like a limited-time, Thanksgiving dinner-themed pizza that DiGiorno debuted in November of 2023.

What Are The Nutritional Values Of Each DiGiorno 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Pizza?

For a single serving consisting of a quarter of the pizza, The Wade Special contains a total of 310 calories, 13 grams of fat, including 6 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 600 milligrams of sodium, 37 milligrams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein. One serving of the Gimme Chimi pizza contains 340 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7 grams of which are saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 620 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

A single serving of the Spicy Wolvie Pie, meanwhile, includes 350 calories, 17 grams of fat, 7 grams of which are saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 810 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein. Finally, one quarter of the Maximum Pep contains 380 calories, 20 grams of fat, 9 grams of which are saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 880 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein. Of course, calculating any of those numbers for the whole pizza requires multiplying by four. Ultimately, the higher nutritional values are understandable based on the meat-heavy toppings.

The Wade Special Is A Treat For Both Comic Book Movie Fans And Flavor Aficionados

Whichever "Deadpool" writer decided that Wade Wilson would describe his pineapple and olive pizza as "sweet and salty" had probably tried that very combination of toppings before, because it's an apt characterization of The Wade Special's flavor. While the pineapple's aggressive sweetness slightly overpowers the olive-y flavor, a distinct saltiness shines through against the fruity counterpart. Perhaps because the two toppings balance one another's intensity, the resulting flavor ends up being more interesting than the sum of its parts.

I'm not a pineapple pizza guy, and I enjoyed The Wade Special anyway. It's easy to imagine that strict advocates of pineapple's place on pizza will like this one too. Whereas the classic ham and pineapple pairing can trend a little too sweet, the distinct contrast between pineapple and olive is uniquely pleasing.

And while this isn't specific to any of DiGiorno's "Deadpool and Wolverine" pizzas, the company's classic crust is cracker-like rather than doughy, presumably because traditional doughy crusts don't usually come out of home ovens quite right, whereas this does. The Wade Special is a winner, not just for giving Deadpool fans the opportunity to try the merch with a mouthful of the signature pizza, but — more importantly — for turning it into something worth trying regardless of its movie affiliation.

The Gimme Chimi Is A Frozen Pizza Aisle Standout

Of the four "Deadpool & Wolverine" products, the Gimme Chimi pizza is handily DiGiorno's biggest swing. Fortunately, whatever flavor science resulted in choosing this particular combination of ingredients to represent a chimichanga paid off, because it is straight up delicious.

What stands out first and foremost about the Gimme Chimi pizza is that it's spicy. As someone who likes to push their limits with spicy foods, I didn't find the level of heat anywhere near challenging, but it's considerable enough to keep the genuinely spice-averse away. Complementing that prominent spiciness is a distinct sauce that tastes somewhere between a standard Mexican-American salsa and a marinara sauce. The extra cheddar cheese that accompanies the default mozzarella is perceptible, imbuing the Gimme Chimi with an added richness. Finally, the sausage and pepper on top do their job to complement each of the more unique elements. Altogether, the flavor is a cohesive fusion of each of its disparate culinary influences.

My only point against the Gimme Chimi is that I left a couple slices out of the refrigerator a few hours after tasting it initially, and it held up considerably worse than the other three pizzas. But for members of the general populace, who probably aren't eating leftover frozen pizza anyway, this is an exemplary pie that can go toe-to-toe with the very best products in the frozen pizza aisle.

The Spicy Wolvie Pie Is A Relatively Standard Meat Lover's Pizza

DiGiorno's Spicy Wolvie Pie is the "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizza with the least going on to make it original, which may or may not be a point against it depending on the individual consumer.

First and foremost, there's a satisfying amount of meat on the Spicy Wolvie Pie. It may not approach the over-the-top quantity you might find at a pizzeria going for a similar style, but the amount of meat is considerable for a frozen pizza. Pepperoni contributes most to its flavor, followed by chorizo, and then bacon — though all three are perceivable. The chorizo is presumably responsible for justifying the inclusion of the word "spicy" in the pizza's name, but that spiciness is only just barely noticeable. Much more prominent is the rich, salty, fatty flavor of the meat component.

Ultimately, the Spicy Wolvie Pie doesn't do much more than a standard meat lover's style of pizza, especially considering the chorizo isn't a huge standout. That said, there are surely some fans of "Deadpool" who would prefer a less adventurous combination of flavors to the standouts in this DiGiorno collab, and it's those fans who will likely get the most out of the Spicy Wolvie Pie.

The Maximum Pep Delivers On The Promise Of A Ton Of Pepperoni

For the sake of proper frozen pizza science, I counted the number of pepperoni slices on my Spicy Wolvie Pie and compared it to the amount on the Maximum Pep. The former had 13 and the latter had 19. In addition to that extra third-or-so of pepperoni slices, the Maximum Pep pizza is loaded with diced pepperoni, both over and under the cheese layer. As intended, the pizza tastes pretty strongly of pepperoni.

One byproduct of all that processed meat is that the Maximum Pep is noticeably oily coming out of the oven. Since this pizza is for pepperoni heads and oil is a big part of the overloaded-with-pepperoni experience, that may well be a good thing for the pizza's intended audience, even if it might put off others. It's also worth noting that, like the Gimme Chimi, I had a couple of Maximum Pep slices out of the refrigerator a few hours after the fact, and they were even better cold — the change in temperature ultimately mellowed the sauce flavor and accentuated the pepperoni's intensity.

The Maximum Pep isn't quite as good as The Wade Special or the Gimme Chimi, but that's because it's inherently less exciting rather than it falling short in any notable metric. More importantly, the Maximum Pep is a satisfying execution of a frozen pizza made with an abundance of pepperoni.

Methodology

DiGiorno sent me each of its four "Deadpool & Wolverine" pizzas to review. All opinions about them are wholly my own.

Since heating and eating four frozen pizzas at once doesn't make a whole lot of sense logistically, I heated and tasted two pizzas at a time — first The Wade Special and Gimme Chimi, and then the Spicy Wolvie Pie and Maximum Pep. Once I tried each pizza shortly after they came out of the oven, I went back for seconds to solidify my opinion of the products.

Finally, as a big fan of cold pizza, I had more a few hours later straight out of the refrigerator. Since that's not how frozen pizza is primarily meant to be consumed, my opinions of the refrigerated slices didn't impact my overall reviews, but I did include a couple of findings from that tasting round I thought were worth noting. In total I ate just over half of each pizza over the course of those three tastings.

Read the original article on Mashed.