Ryan Reynolds’ New Movie Might Mean Deadpool 3 Will Be Delayed

When Disney completed their takeover of Fox, Marvel Studios weren’t shy to admit that we weren’t going to see the X-Men or the Fantastic Four rebooted as part of the MCU for a while, possibly Phase Six at the earliest. However, fans were hoping that Deadpool 3 would arrive sooner or later given that the franchise could pick up from where it left off,  especially when Ryan Reynolds confirmed that the project was in active development.

We’ve already heard rumors that Reynolds and his new corporate overlords at the Mouse House were disagreeing over the movie’s tone though, despite outgoing Disney CEO Bob Iger admitting that R-rated entries in the MCU weren’t completely out of the question. The Coronavirus pandemic has also wreaked havoc with Marvel’s release plans, and now it looks like Reynolds’ increasingly-stacked schedule might have a huge effect on the Merc with a Mouth getting his third solo outing.

As one of the biggest stars in the business, Reynolds is clearly a busy guy, and a quick glance at his list of upcoming projects sure does make it look like Deadpool 3 is still a long way off. It was announced yesterday that he’s set to re-team with Free Guy director Shawn Levy on an untitled time travel movie, for one, which itself comes just weeks after Netflix confirmed the actor was in talks to produce and star in their live-action adaptation of classic video game Dragon’s Lair.

Not only that, but Hugh Jackman’s arch-nemesis still has to hit the promotional trail for Free Guy at the end of the year, while also finding the time to resume shooting on Dwayne Johnson’s Red Notice, which was halted due to the ongoing global crisis. If that wasn’t enough, sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is still scheduled for release in August, while follow-ups for The Croods, Detective Pikachu and 6 Underground are also in various stages of development, not to mention the possibility of an expanded role for his character in the upcoming Hobbs & Shaw sequel.

With all that on his plate, how he’s going to find the time to suit up for Deadpool 3 at any point in the near future is anybody’s guess. Luckily, the MCU has more than enough new content on the way to tide the fans over until we get to see Wade Wilson back on the big screen again. But still, it’s a bit disheartening to know that the threequel is unlikely to arrive in 2022 now, which was reportedly when we were supposed to see it.