A whole lot happened in the aftermath of “Deadpool 2” hitting theaters in 2018. Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox closed in March 2019, which brought the “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” franchises under Marvel Studios’ control. That also meant that the historically family-friendly Disney was now the studio in charge of the very R-rated “Deadpool” franchise. There was much to consider and Feige couldn’t just simply go forth with whatever plans might have existed for “Deadpool 3” before the Disney acquisition. Reynolds wasn’t phased, though, and went back to the drawing board. He even pitched a pretty unconventional idea for the film:
“I went back to the drawing board, and I wrote up about 18 different treatments. Some of them almost like a Sundance film, a budget of under $10 million, sort of using the IP in a way that they previously hadn’t used, and I pitched bigger movies, and I pitched things in-between.”
In the end, it was Jackman agreeing to return as Wolverine that truly got things moving in the right direction. Even though Feige advised Jackman against returning as Wolverine, producer Wendy Jacobson revealed that the train started barreling down the tracks once the actor was on board:
“We definitely spun our wheels a little bit trying to find the reason for this movie to be. Once Hugh raised his hand, two months later we were prepping. It was honestly one of the fastest turnarounds I’ve ever seen.”
The cast also includes Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. Reynolds co-wrote the screenplay alongside Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Levy.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is set to reach theaters on July 26, 2024.
