Deadpool & Wolverine has been a massive hit and seemingly everyone has fallen in love with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman's bromance.
Now, following reports about Disney and Marvel Studios' plans to mount a robust "For Your Consideration" campaign for the threequel, In Touch Weekly is claiming to have heard that Reynolds and Jackman are the top picks to host next year's Academy Awards.
"Hugh and Ryan – as a team – are at the top of the Oscars' wish list now that they’ve sealed their status as the two biggest movie stars of the year," a source tells the site. "They haven’t said no yet, but unlike Jimmy Kimmel, who personally took only a nominal, scale fee for hosting the show, Hugh and Ryan are major movie stars and will need to be paid for lending their star power to the show."
As you'd expect, it sounds like Reynolds' Maximum Effort Productions would be heavily involved - as they were with Deadpool & Wolverine's unforgettable marketing campaign - and this same source believes that's likely to be a dealbreaker for Reynolds.
Oh, and money, of course.
The source adds, "Like Hugh, Ryan has serious singing and dancing chops and isn’t afraid to make a fool of himself for the sake of getting a laugh. Of course, Hugh has all the experience he needs from his very well-received job hosting the show five years ago, but doing it with Ryan can plug into a whole different vibe: bigger, wackier and edgier than his first time around."
"The Academy has other, cheaper options, but Hugh and Ryan hosting would be global news and, the reality is, these guys don’t do anything for free."
Social media has been abuzz for months about the possibility of this happening and we'd assume the Academy has taken note.
While it's unlikely Deadpool & Wolverine will receive any Oscar nominations - the movie is terrific but we all know how the Academy views Marvel movies - the prospect of Reynolds and Jackman being paired up to host the show is undeniably exciting.
It's also bound to help with ratings that have been steadily on the decline for some time now. Previous attempts to counter that haven't worked, with a meaningless fan-voted award resulting in Army of the Dead winning...well, nothing (as far as we're aware, no one involved with the Zack Snyder/Netflix movie was presented with a physical award).
Back in July, we wrapped up our Deadpool & Wolverine review - which you can read by clicking here - by saying, "A contender for the best superhero movie ever, Deadpool & Wolverine is two hours of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman proving they were born to play these roles and, crucially, be part of the MCU. It’s a f***ing masterpiece."
Deadpool & Wolverine hits Digital platforms (Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango) on October 1 before clawing its way onto 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 22.