Marvel Studios made huge waves this month when they revealed their Phase 4 plans for the MCU, confirming 10 projects that'll span through 2021. The slate includes a mix of movies and Disney+ TV shows, such as
The Eternals,
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,
WandaVision,
Hawkeye,
Thor: Love and Thunder, and more.
There were some notable omissions from the Hall H panel as
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,
Black Panther 2, and
Captain Marvel 2 all figure to be Phase 5 projects.
Another franchise not mentioned was
Deadpool. The Merc with a Mouth's status in the MCU remains uncertain after Disney acquired the rights in its purchase of Fox. Star
Ryan Reynolds had his own hilarious response when the Disney deal went through, and even Disney executive Alan Horn
promised fans that Deadpool has a future in the House of Mouse.
What that future is exactly remains unclear, but it seems Ryan Reynolds is still stuck in the past. The actor took to Instagram today and shared a photo of his "investigation heading into year 5," in which he's running a faux investigation into who leaked the
Deadpool footage years ago.
But what really caught fans' eye was his mention of "Phase 5," sparking speculation that
Deadpool could finally join the MCU in Phase 5. Although, he's likely just poking fun at Marvel's grouping convention for its MCU films as well as fans' tendencies to look too deep into things — like a random image posted to social media.
"The point is, I love conspiracy-yarn," he added.
Deadpool wasn't the only one missing from Marvel's Comic-Con panel as there was also
little talk of the X-Men and
Fantastic Four. It's possible that Marvel could be waiting on introducing Wade Wilson into the MCU until they sort out their plans for the rest of the X-Men. Either way, it's clear Ryan Reynolds is enjoying stoking the conspiracy rumors.