Wherefore art thou, Deadpool 3? Over the last half decade, Ryan Reynolds’ take on the Merc with a Mouth has won over audiences around the world. There are now so many superhero movies that they’re extremely ripe for parody, but the Deadpool series manages to not only break the fourth wall and be extremely funny, but has a real heart and characters you care about.
They were also huge money-spinners for Fox, leading many to wonder what would happen to the franchise in the wake of the company’s merger with Disney. After all, the extremely adult antics of Deadpool don’t quite fit with the very PG-13 MCU, now do they?
Right now, however, things look murky. Back in April, we heard some promising news from Disney boss Bob Iger, who said quite plainly “you’ll be seeing more of Deadpool in the years ahead.” But, with X-Force apparently cancelled (though it may eventually appear as a Hulu miniseries), we don’t know anything about when.
Now, Deadpool 2 director David Leitch (whose upcoming Hobbs & Shaw looks amazing) has been quizzed about Deadpool 3‘s status. He explained that he hasn’t been approached but did say the following:
“In everybody’s world, everybody wants to make it. So, if I was ever approached to make Deadpool 3, my answer would be, ‘Hell yes,’ but I think there’s a lot of things going on in the shake-up with Fox and Disney and where that whole Marvel world after Endgame is gonna be. When the dust settles, let’s hope that Deadpool lives. That’s kind of ironic, right?”
Leitch even went on to explain that he’s got ideas for how to get the character into the MCU, saying:
“I have a lot of ideas but I’m keeping them close to my vest so, if they ever come and I’m grateful enough for them to call, I can share all my crazy ideas.”
While I doubt we’re never going to see Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool again, there’s an awful lot for Marvel Studios to untangle here. No doubt their priorities at the moment are figuring out an organic way to eventually introduce mutants to the MCU, and once they’ve got the mechanics of that figured out, they can bring Deadpool along for the ride. Or why not just let him continue on in his own mini-continuity?
Whatever the case, the only way they can truly screw this up is by neutering the character and forcing him to be PG-13. Come on Disney, you know that the only good Deadpool is an R-rated Deadpool.
