Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe largely revolves around the idea of legacy. Many of the elder statesmen that have been stalwarts of the franchise since the earliest days of Phase One are either being cycled out or moved into a supporting role, with a batch of young talent set to arrive on the scene or solidify their positions.
Indeed, Tom Holland, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Simu Liu, Dominique Thorne, Elizabeth Olsen, Tatiana Maslany, Teyonah Parris, Kathryn Newton and Brie Larson are all aged between 23 and 35, which puts the future of the MCU in good hands for at least the next decade or so.
However, there’s one notable outlier. When Ryan Reynolds eventually brings Deadpool 3 to cinemas, he’ll be the oldest actor to headline their first MCU solo outing. He turns 45 this year, and based on Kevin Feige’s recent comments, it’ll be two years at least until the Merc with a Mouth returns to theaters around the world, so he might even be in the same ballpark as the 48 year-old Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3 when it comes to the franchise’s most elderly leading man ever.
Of course, Marvel aren’t going to retain one of the biggest and most popular movie stars in the world as a fan favorite character without maximizing their investment, and we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Thor: Love and Thunder would be adapting Jane Foster’s cancer storyline long before it was confirmed – that the two parties are said to be in it for the long haul, as the studio wants the Canadian star in the MCU for “as long as possible.”
Obviously, fans can’t wait for the Merc with a Mouth to explode onto the scene, and Ryan Reynolds clearly holds Wade Wilson very close to his heart, so it appears as though we’ll be seeing Deadpool break the fourth wall and drop creatively-worded insults until the actor is well into his 50s. Which is perfectly fine with us.
