Courtesy of Marvel Studios
The Actors’ Strike is over, and movies are resuming production again. One of those movies is Deadpool 3, not only a sequel to Deadpool and Deadpool 2 but also the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s the only MCU movie to come out in 2024, with Captain America: Brave New World getting delayed to 2025 due to needing major reshoots and Thunderbolts getting delayed to 2025 because it couldn’t begin production this year due to the strikes. Deadpool 3 was halfway through filming when the Actors’ Strike began. With the strike finally over, Deadpool 3 resumed filming on November 23 and looks to come out on July 26, 2024. Here’s what we know about the movie so far and the path to finally getting to it.
Path to Deadpool 3
Deadpool 3 will star Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, also known as Deadpool. Reynolds has played the character since X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After the film got negative reviews from critics and criticized how Deadpool was portrayed, Fox decided to go back to Deadpool’s usual tone, keeping Reynolds on board, even after his other comic book movie, Green Lantern from 2011, bombed. It took a while, but Deadpool finally began filming in 2015, directed by Tim Miller, after 2014 test footage with Deadpool was well received. Deadpool came out on February 12, 2016, and was well-received by critics and audiences. The movie broke many box office records for an R-rated movie, making around $782 million worldwide.
Two years later, Deadpool 2 came out on May 18, 2018, making around $785 million worldwide, which was more than the first movie, and got good reviews just like the first movie. Deadpool 3 was bound to happen, but Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox put the movie on hold. Disney now had access to Deadpool, other X-Men characters, and any other movie rights Fox had. Concerns grew that Deadpool would no longer be R-rated for the family-friendly Disney. The future of Deadpool 3 was uncertain until Ryan Reynolds started meeting with Marvel Studios, and it was announced that Reynolds would continue to play Deadpool. Kevin Feige also confirmed Deadpool 3 would be R-rated.
What We Know About the Movie
This time, Shawn Levy will be directing Deadpool 3. Levy is known for recently directing Free Guy and The Adam Project, also starring Ryan Reynolds. In September 2022, a video announcing Deadpool 3 also confirmed Hugh Jackman was returning to play Logan, also known as Wolverine. Jackman has played the character since 2000 in X-Men and has been praised for his performance. Logan was originally Jackman’s sendoff as the popular character in 2017, but Jackman confirmed it would not interfere with Logan’s death in that movie and would take place before the events of Logan. Set photos from the beginning of July revealed Jackman will finally wear Wolverine’s iconic yellow costume, over two decades since he first appeared in X-Men.
Returning from the previous Deadpool movies include Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Rob Delaney, Stefan Kapicic, and Shioli Kutsuna. Also rumored to be returning from a 20th Century Fox Marvel movie is Jennifer Garner as Elektra from Daredevil and Elektra. Garner recently said she was unaware of a role in Deadpool 3 but it’s possible she could be pulling an Andrew Garfield and keep her role a secret. It’s unknown if other X-Men or Marvel characters from 20th Century Fox movies are returning. Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammer have already reprised their roles as Professor X and Beast in other MCU movies, and both are open to returning for more movies. Emma Corrin joins the cast as the main villain, but it’s currently unknown who the villain is. The character Dogpool was confirmed to be the villain right after the Actors’ Strike ended.
The plot of Deadpool 3 is unknown. What we do know is it ties into the multiverse, with Deadpool likely entering the MCU. The same on-set photos that showed Jackman wearing the classic Wolverine costume showed a destroyed 20th Century Fox logo, indicating Deadpool will continue to break the fourth wall. There are rumors that the TVA from Loki will be involved in the movie, but that has not been confirmed. Deadpool 3 is rumored to tie into the upcoming big Marvel movies, Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Importance of Deadpool 3
Deadpool 3 is one of the most important upcoming MCU movies. Outside of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the other MCU movies to come out in 2023 underperformed at the box office and got mixed reviews. Marvel fatigue is kicking in, and fans want something great. Overall, it’s been a rocky road for the MCU after the Infinity Saga. The MCU is currently in the Multiverse Saga, and fans are craving for some multiverse stories that will be important and lead to Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel Studios will be bringing Reynold's Deadpool into the MCU, and they got Jackman to return as Wolverine, so it would be a major disappointment if the movie failed to deliver. Deadpool 3 is also the first R-rated MCU movie, so its success can determine if Marvel will do more R-rated Marvel movies. The 2025 Blade movie was announced to be an R-rated movie already but could change based on how Deadpool 3 does.
Are you excited for Deadpool 3? Let us know in the comments below.