Everything you need to know about the MCU’s Deadpool 3

Chimichangas for everyone! A third, as-yet-untitled movie starring Ryan Reynolds as the wise-cracking Marvel superhero Deadpool is in the works at Marvel Studios. While it will be a while before fans reunite with Wade Wilson on the big screen, there are several things we already know about Deadpool’s next big-screen adventure.

In 2019, Disney formalized the acquisition of former rival studio 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios), which at the time held the film and TV rights to Marvel intellectual property — more specifically anything and everything to do with the X-Men. With the acquisition, Disney-owned Marvel has regained access to the mutants and is on the verge of introducing the characters back into the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. That includes Deadpool.

Here’s everything we know so far about the third Deadpool, unofficially titled Deadpool 3. Bookmark this page and check back often as we’ll update this story with more information and promotional materials as they come out.

When will Deadpool 3 hit the cinema?

There is currently no clear schedule for Deadpool 3. In a 2021 interview, Marvel Studios figurehead Kevin Feige said a third Deadpool movie was in the drafting stages but was not scheduled to start shooting in 2021. Instead, filming could start later in 2022.

But the timeline for Deadpool 3 depends on Marvel's many other projects. The next two years are already jam-packed with new Marvel movies and TV Shows; so it’s unclear if Deadpool 3 might squeeze in anywhere.

What MPAA rating will Deadpool 3 have?

Deadpool 3 is aiming for an R-rating. Kevin Feige confirms the rating in a January 2021 interview with Collider.

“It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan’s overseeing a script right now,” Feige says.

Where can I watch the trailer for Deadpool 3?

As far as we know, the movie has not yet begun principal photography, so there is no trailer or even a teaser trailer available for Deadpool 3 yet.

Why is Deadpool 3 taking so long?

While 2016’s Deadpool and 2018’s Deadpool 2 grossed a combined $1.5 billion at the box office, a third Deadpool movie stalled due to Disney’s complicated acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Besides the sheer logistics of one major film studio merging with another, the acquisition had to be approved by the federal government. Although the news broke about the acquisition in November 2017, the merger wasn’t finalized until a year later, in spring 2019. Deadpool 3 was confirmed a few months later, in December 2019, with Ryan Reynolds commemorating the announcement with an Instagram photo of himself at Marvel Studios.

Deadpool 2 was released in June 2018 — during the merger. The Disney-Fox merger made green-lighting any new movies for production, including Deadpool 3, impossible. During this time, many in-development movies at Fox were also killed, such as an adaptation of Mouse Guard.

The R-rated nature of the Deadpool franchise made it inappropriate to the family-friendly Marvel movies under Disney. Even Deadpool’s creator, Rob Liefeld, points out it took a long time for star Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Feige to get “on the same page” with the vision for the character. Indeed, for a brief period in 2020, Rob Liefeld said he wasn’t consulted on the movie. Obviously, things have changed as talks continued behind the scenes.

In November 2020, Deadline reported that Bob’s Burgers scribes Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin had been hired to write Deadpool 3.

Who’s in the Deadpool 3 cast?

Ryan Reynolds will once again star as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in Deadpool 3.

It’s only possible, but not confirmed, that other franchise staple actors like Zazie Beats (“Domino”), Stefan Kapičić (“Colossus”), Brianna Hildebrand (“Negasonic Teenage Warhead”), Morena Baccarin (“Vanessa”), Karan Soni (“Dopinder”), and Leslie Uggams (“Blind Al”) will also return to their roles. Their characters remained alive at the end of Deadpool 2, but it’s not known if they’ll return in Deadpool 3.

Actor T.J. Miller, who starred as Weasel in both Deadpool and Deadpool 2, has since been accused of sexual and unprofessional misconduct, essentially ending his career. It is unlikely he will return for Deadpool 3.

Deadpool 3 will take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so we also shouldn’t rule out any potential cameos.

What is the plot of Deadpool 3?

It is currently not known what the plot of Deadpool 3 will be. In January 2019, Reynolds told Variety he and the team were “looking to go in a completely different direction,” adding, “often, they reboot or change a character maybe like four movies too late.” (Reynolds said this before the movie officially found its writers.)

The plans for the X-Men and other Marvel properties to enter the MCU are still opaque. The Fantastic Four, a previous Fox commodity, is getting its own MCU film as a part of Phase Four. Here we will call attention to the 2022 movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will do something with the Marvel multiverse, which could mean the unification of the alternate Marvel Universes that have existed on-screen and could include Deadpool.

Whatever happened to the X-Force spinoff movie?

In January 2019, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld tweeted a rumored X-Force movie had become a “victim of the merger,” referring to the Disney-Fox megadeal that froze many of Fox’s productions.

How might Deadpool crossover with other Marvel characters?

In August 2019, alleged industry insider Tim Vo from Lords of the Long Box tweeted that his sources said Deadpool would appear in the Black Widow post-credits scene and Avengers 5. That was, of course, proven false when Wade Wilson did not show his face in Black Widow. However, given that the multiverse has been opened up, it is possible the Merc with a Mouth may be showing up in the MCU sooner rather than later.