After being in development for almost three years and making frustratingly slow progress the entire time, Deadpool 3 exploded into life this week after Hugh Jackman was confirmed to be reprising the role of Wolverine.
Naturally, that’s going to remain the biggest talking point between now and the movie’s release in September 2024, with the hype for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first-ever R-rated installment already having reached fever pitch with 23 months still to go until we get to see on and offscreen BFFs/arch-enemies Jackman and Ryan Reynolds bicker, bitch, and moan.
Of course, there’s still an entire supporting cast that needs to be filled out, with the door wide open for brand new faces, familiar friends and foes, and even an MCU stalwart or two. Karan Soni’s Dopinder, Josh Brolin’s Cable, and Zazie Beetz’s Domino are at the top of the list for many Deadpool diehards, but the first film’s big bad Ed Skrein admitted in an interview with ComicBookMovie that as happy as he’d be to leave his contributions how they stand, he’d be just as thrilled to get the call.
“Listen, I’ve got all the comics where he comes back with the suit, the things that fly out of them, the teeth, and the eyes, and everything. I think he ends up getting strangled by Deadpool in the bottom of a river to really die. These things are…it was a privilege to be part of number one, dude. I would be so happy to leave it as what it is. It would be the happiest thing ever to just move on and I’d be super happy to go back. It’s all love and it’s all good. They’ve got a great team between Hugh, Ryan, and Shawn. They’ve got an incredible team. I’ll be there in the first week with my popcorn and I’ll just be there as a fan.”
Skrein’s Ajax may have bitten the dust at the end of Deadpool, but it’s not as if the superhero genre is against the notion of resurrecting characters from the dead. Now that the multiverse is in play, there’s no reason why the self-aware and fourth wall-breaking Merc with a Mouth couldn’t end up returning to his own past for a quick gag or two at Francis’ expense.
