As the writers’ strike continues, several productions have opted (or been shamed) into shutting down filming. Writers form an integral part of a filmmaking team — would a film even exist without them? — and their presence on set ensures that they can consult with the other crew members, clarify the script, or rewrite scenes on the fly. Since union guidelines mandate that a member cannot write during a strike, writers cannot currently do any of their duties.
So, it was quite shocking when it was announced Deadpool 3 was entering production and continuing on with filming. The Deadpool franchise features significant creative contributions from series star Ryan Reynolds — his adlibbing was part of the film’s appeal, and he’s even credited as a writer on Deadpool 2. As he’s a WGA member, however, Reynolds must adhere to the rules of the strike, and cannot improvise any lines on the set of Deadpool 3 — doing so would constitute scabbing.
Which is why it’s probably in the film’s best interest to pause filming until the strike is complete. Not only is standing in solidarity with fellow writers — most of whom are not likely to receive A-list treatment like Reynolds — the right thing to do, but it’s also just plain logical.
Hollywood learned a valuable lesson last time around
Some might have forgotten the 2007 writers’ strike — several productions stayed up and running, and as a result, that year is considered an abysmal one for film and television. One of the products of that strike? X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Not only is it considered a low point for the X-Men franchise, which even Reynolds himself has disowned and mocked in Deadpool 2, but it’s also an eerie parallel to Deadpool 3.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is infamous for introducing Reynolds as Deadpool, only to have his mouth be sewn shut and his interactions with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to be superficial and largely confined to the final battle. Now, Jackman’s set to come back for Deadpool 3, and while the script is written, the looseness of the script for a Deadpool film is designed to work around acting choices like improv.
With Jackman and Reynolds’ natural chemistry, fans could be missing out on some moments of comedic gold. The two are close friends in real life, and Reynolds has been trying to film a team-up between Deadpool and Wolverine for years now. Now that he’s made it this far, is an inability to improvise and riff off of one another really the perfect situation for filming?
There’s a very real chance that Hollywood is repeating the same mistake with Deadpool 3 that it did with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Whether it’s due to an obstinate desire to outlast the strike somehow, or simply because it was 20th Century Fox that produced the latter film instead of Marvel itself, the studio seems to be following an unwise path that leads to a dead-end.
It would send a powerful message to the studios (and help them out, too)
Reynolds and Jackman are quite possibly two of the biggest names on the planet. Without the two of them, there simply is no film. And that’s precisely the big deal: If Jackman and Reynolds choose to stand in solidarity with the WGA and decide to shut down filming, a big studio like Marvel might take notice. At the end of the day, every studio is a business, and businesses only care about their bottom dollar. It’s exactly the point of a strike: hitting the big guys where their wallets are.
It’s also no secret that Marvel Studios has been fielding criticism for its Phase Four initiative of the MCU, which has itself resulted in lower box-office returns for their films. Following Avengers: Endgame, the once-untouchable franchise appears to have lost some of its shine in the eyes of the public. And as the MCU brand keeps growing and releasing more content yearly, accusations of “superhero fatigue” are common, with many people writing think pieces and articles about Marvel’s possible fall from grace.
That’s why the studio likely needs a bonafide hit in the form of Deadpool 3. A subpar film for an already-solid franchise could be another nail in the coffin for Marvel, and simply add fuel to the fire of their naysayers. The narrative would then become that Marvel took a previously-successful franchise and ran it into the ground — and since its current slate features very few returning heroes, it probably needs to keep as many legacy actors around as it can at the moment. It might not be the most conducive to creativity, but studios keep bringing back the same characters because they’re fan favorites. So long as a popular actor, actress, or character puts butts in the seats, and wants to continue in their role, then a studio will find a way to make it happen.
There’s also the fact that mutants, which Deadpool 3 is likely to feature heavily, are also being set up as a major part of Marvel’s future phases — it’s likely that the X-Men will be joining the universe at a later date, which could provide plenty of stories for years to come.
Though the concept of mutants was introduced in Ms. Marvel (which actually chose to change Kamala’s Inhuman origin to a mutant), it hasn’t been explored in-depth, meaning Deadpool 3 could serve as a launching-off point for that branch of the franchise. If it underperforms, or if mutants are portrayed in an unsatisfying way, that could have a huge ripple effect on Marvel Studios’ future plans.
One would think Hollywood had learned its lesson about pressing on without writers last time around. Now, it seems they’re walking into a similar trap — but it can be avoided. Union members are amenable to a deal (which would cost a fraction of what most major studios pull in per year) even if the studios are not. Creatives with bigger name recognition are far, far more likely to be heard, however, and Deadpool 3 could become a great example of how that can be accomplished.
