Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
Preview
- Ryan Reynolds is working on ideas for a new ‘Deadpool’ movie.
- He’s looking into teaming the character up with the X-Men.
- There’s no word on what might happen with the movie.
With last year’s smash success ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’Ryan Reynolds leapfrogged into the position of being among the most valuable performers –– and creators –– among the Marvel ranks.
But since that movie’s release (which earned more than $1.33 billion worldwide), Reynolds has largely been playing coy about future plans for masked nuisance Wade Wilson. Neither he nor Marvel has confirmed whether he’ll show up in either of the two new team-up movies (those would be ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ which recently confirmed the first part of its sprawling cast) and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars.’
He’s also been stepping back from the acting side of his career in the last few months, with word that he’s juggling several writing projects, including a comedy about a reforming boyband (more on that below) that could see him reunite with ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ co-star Hugh Jackman and director Shawn Levy.
Still, the Deadpool whispers continue, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Reynolds is working on various treatments for an ensemble film featuring three or four X-Men characters. Deadpool would of course appear, but perhaps only as a supporting player.
The actor/writer/producer is said to believe that keeping his f-bomb wielding anti-hero more on the sidelines could allow for the X-Men characters to be used in unexpected ways. Reynolds has been open about every Deadpool movie needing a strong reason to exist, and it’s possible this could provide the avenue he needs.
Ryan Reynolds attends the UK Fan Event of Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at Eventim Apollo, London on July 11th, 2024. Photo by StillMoving.Net for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
Right now, it’s all just noodling, Reynolds figuring out what he wants to do without directly involving Disney and Marvel (though you know both companies will be interested to see what he comes up with).
And he’s said that he doesn’t intend to have Deadpool really find a place amongst the likes of the Avengers for storytelling reasons.
Here’s what he said at the Time 100 summit:
“I like that he’s isolated. If Deadpool becomes an Avenger or an X-Man, we’re at the end. That’s his wish fulfillment, and you can’t give him that.”
Not to mention that Marvel is already exploring its own X-Men future, with ‘Hunger Games’ prequel writer Michael Lesslie at work on a script for the mutant heroes.
Chances are we’ll have to wait a while to see what Reynolds comes up with –– he prefers to take his time honing his treatments, and went through several different variations of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at the early stage before it evolved into its final form (and that was partly thanks to Jackman’s decision to come back to the role of Logan/Wolverine).
Related Article: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Becomes The Second R-Rated Movie to Make a Billion Dollars
What’s Ryan Reynolds boy band movie?
(L to R) Hugh Jackman, Shawn Levy, and Ryan Reynolds attend ‘The Adam Project’ World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 28, 2022 in New York City. Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix.
The other big project Reynolds is scripting at the moment is tentatively titled ‘Boy Band.’
Right now, much of the movie is a mystery –– we don’t know exactly what aspect of the boy band life would be featured.
But given that Reynolds is looking to reunite with his friend and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ co-star Jackman on the new movie, we can imagine something catching up with the former members of a boy band group who have since gone their separate ways.
The Netflix TV series ‘Girls5Eva’ covers similar territory, albeit from the point of view of a girl group.
This is what Reynolds told about the project:
“I’m on a second draft. The first draft was incredible and written by one of my favorite writers, Jesse Andrews [‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’]. Now I’m on my lonesome. There are no dates or anything just yet. I’m not filming anything for at least a year. This feels like it needs to have an extremely modest budget, and one that wouldn’t be all about going to pay above-the-line actors. Shawn, Hugh and I are open to creative ways to make this movie at an absolute bargain.”
And this was his quote about the trouble with boy bands:
“A lot of members of boy bands — and there are a lot of them — had managers who left them high and dry. They experienced levels of fame that would be very difficult for anyone to navigate, let alone an adolescent, when you are farming out your self-worth to an audience of screaming people. It creates a kind of arrested cultural development. They’re forever associated with that period of time in their lives. This would be about people in their 40s and 50s trying to get their lives back. I think there is something beautiful about that. The north star for me as a producer is joy. I feel like cynicism is a contracting industry and doesn’t have a great shelf life.”
When might we see a Deadpool/X-Men team-up movie on screens?
(L to R) Hugh Jackman, Wesley Snipes, Channing Tatum, Dafne Keen, Ryan Reynolds and Jennifer Garner in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
This concept would likely be a few years away if it actually happens –– not only does Reynolds have to commit to a treatment and write (or co-write) it, but there’s also the matter of Marvel approving it and then finding space on its busy release schedule to get it into theaters.
Of course, Reynolds has a lot of sway after the success of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ but the next couple of years alone are packed with planned movies, not to mention that while his most recent film had nods to the X-Men, the Marvel brass is also planning its own use of the classic characters in ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ now filming. And the company is also putting the pieces in place for a rebooted mutant team in the future.
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.