Yesterday evening, the news broke that Ryan Reynolds is in the early stages of writing a new Deadpool movie that will see the Merc with a Mouth paired up with "three or four" X-Men characters.
Wade Wilson would be a supporting player in the project that's separate from the X-Men reboot being written by Michael Lesslie for Marvel Studios. Reynolds is currently working independently from the studio, so it's unclear whether the project will come to fruition.
However, with Marvel Studios looking to put the X-Men front and centre and Deadpool & Wolverine proving to be one of its biggest hits during the Multiverse Saga, we're sure Kevin Feige won't hesitate to bring Reynolds back into the fold.
What will this mysterious movie be? Well, scooper @MyTimeToShineH is strongly hinting that, as many of you have theorised, this is an X-Force feature.
Deadpool has a storied history with the team; one of the most memorable came during Rick Remender's X-Force run. In that, the anti-hero was paired up with Wolverine, Archangel, Psylocke, and Fantomex. We also know that Reynolds was eager to develop an X-Force movie when the X-Men rights were still with 20th Century Fox.
That project started taking shape before the Disney/Fox merger, and Reynolds even hinted at it during Deadpool 2's final act when the Merc's costume was given a grey makeover.
"There are no updates to share just yet," Reynolds said while addressing Deadpool's MCU future last December. "But I trust Kevin and [Marvel exec] Lou D’Esposito with my life. The character trait I love most about Deadpool is that he’s a fanboy. His enthusiasm and longing to be part of a team is really endearing to me. It’s his overarching wish-fulfillment story."
"But I don’t think he should ever be an Avenger or an X-Man," he added. "If he becomes either, we’re at the end."
Asked if that means he'd turn down Avengers: Doomsday, Avengers: Secret Wars, or even the eventual X-Men reboot, he responded, "Just the opposite! I think Deadpool works so well appearing with the X-Men and Avengers, but he always needs to stay an outsider. His ultimate dream is to be accepted and appreciated. But he can’t be accepted."
"His coping mechanism of deflecting shame through humor works only when used to pave over his many inadequacies. If and when he does become an Avenger or X-Man, we’re at the end of his journey," Reynolds noted.
Based on these remarks, it appears any solo Deadpool movies that do happen will pair the character up with other superheroes because, as Reynolds put it, "I have some pitches and ideas, but none of them center on Deadpool. He is a great supporting or ensemble player. And I would always want Deadpool and Wolverine to be paired in some way."
It's hard to imagine any comic book fan not being on board with the idea of an X-Force movie. Unless the Multiverse is set to continue after Avengers: Secret Wars, the project wouldn't be set on Earth-10005 and Reynolds will instead have to work around what Marvel Studios has planned for its new Uncanny X-Men.
We'd imagine Reynolds is eager to reunite with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, though that surely hinges on whether the actor also intends to stick around. A fun idea might be to put Deadpool in a Multiversal team, but we'll see what the actor and writer cooks up.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.