Ryan Reynolds will give the MCU its first live-action X-Men movie with Deadpool 3, which will bring a new level of complexity to the MCU's overarching narrative.
In September 2022, Reynolds made waves throughout the MCU fandom by confirming plans for Deadpool 3, although its release was later delayed to late 2024. But the biggest reveal from that announcement came with the confirmation that Hugh Jackman will return for one last ride as Wolverine, giving him the X-Men team-up movie that he and Reynolds always dreamed of within the MCU.
The big question now is how exactly Marvel Studios will bring James "Logan" Howlett back for his final go-round since he notably met his end in 2017's Logan, long before Marvel Studios regained the rights to the X-Men. On top of that, fans are amazed by the idea alone that Marvel is able to use Jackman's take on the clawed mutant after building such a legacy with 20th Century Fox for 17 years.
Now, as production goes into its earliest stages, Ryan Reynolds teased just how complicated it actually was to make this dream duo a reality for the Marvel Studios threequel.
Ryan Reynolds on 'Red Tape' Making Deadpool 3
During an interview with Collider, MCU newcomer Ryan Reynolds opened up on the difficulties of bringing mutants to Marvel Studios for the franchise's first X-Men-centric film.
While he made it clear that it was easy to sell the team on Hugh Jackman's return as Wolverine, he admitted that there were "a lot of moving parts" and "a lot of red tape" to go through to bring it to life, although Reynolds wasn't specific regarding all of these X-Men complications:
“It’s not like adding Hugh Jackman to a movie like this is a hard sell. It’s an immediate and emphatic, unqualified yes. It’s a lot of moving parts and Fox and X-Men and all that kind of stuff that Marvel needs to sort through. A lot of red tape in order to make that happen. And they did it. And I’m really grateful that they did it, because for me, working with Hugh is a dream come true. But working with Logan and having Logan and Wade together in a movie is beyond any dream I would ever be audacious enough to have. So I’m really, really super fucking excited to do this film.”
Reynolds was also asked to reflect on the conversations he had to get Jackman in the movie, although he humbly said that he got "too much credit" for that comeback happening:
“I think you’re giving me too much credit. I don’t believe that I’m responsible for Hugh coming back. I always wanted Hugh to come back."
He recalled having his first meeting with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about four years ago regarding a movie featuring Deadpool and Wolverine, and Jackman had called Reynolds near that time expressing an interest in coming back. And while he offered to let Jackman share the details of that conversation, Reynolds then took the responsibility to sell Feige on why this movie could be a great idea:
"My first meeting with Kevin Feige when Disney bought Fox years ago, maybe three years ago, or three and a half, four years ago, I’m not sure, was about doing a movie with the two of us, a Deadpool Wolverine movie. And that was not possible at the time. And then Hugh just happened to call at that perfect moment and express that he’d be interested in coming back and doing this one more time. And the contents of that conversation, I’ll let Hugh, because I know it’s only inevitable that you and Hugh are going to speak at some point soon, I’m sure. I’ll let Hugh answer that on his own. But he expressed interest in coming back, and then it was my job to take that to Kevin Feige one more time and sell it.”
The Challenges of Introducing the X-Men to the MCU
Although fans are clearly excited to see their favorite mutants incorporated into the same story as Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it's no surprise that there are going to be some complications in bringing that idea to life.
While Ryan Reynolds couldn't go into details on the "red tape" that surrounded the X-Men's introduction, there's already been a couple of teases towards how difficult that endeavor is. The MCU has a couple of newly-revealed mutants in Ms. Marvel and Namor the Sub-Mariner, although the only way that Marvel Studios can bring already-used characters back is with the actors that first played them, at least for the next couple of years.
But while Deadpool 3 is still more than two years away, and even with the challenges of making the movie a reality, Reynolds can't contain his excitement to see Deadpool, Wolverine, and more team up in this one-of-a-kind threequel.
The first story details have teased Wade Wilson being something of a "fish out of water" as he makes his way into the MCU, which will be made even more complicated as he keeps Logan from his already-established death in 2029. Throw in a number of potential returning characters from the first two Deadpool movies and dozens of first-time MCU interactions on the table, and it makes for arguably the biggest solo movie in MCU history.
More of those details are sure to come to light as Deadpool 3 moves further into development, but for now, anticipation only continues to build for the Merc with a Mouth's long-awaited MCU introduction.
Deadpool 3 will release in theaters on November 8, 2024.
