Following creative differences on the set of It Ends With Us, Blake Lively's feud with co-star and director Justin Baldoni has led to multiple lawsuits being filed. Those are made up of almost endless charges and counter-charges, but boil down to Lively accusing Baldoni of harassment and retaliation, only for Baldoni to counter by saying the Green Lantern star has set out to defame him.
Ryan Reynolds, Lively's husband, has also been pulled into the lawsuit, along with Deadpool & Wolverine. Why? Well, Baldoni and his lawyer argue that Nicepool was created by Reynolds to mock and bully him as part of a targeted smear campaign.
"Reynolds portrayed Nicepool as a vicious caricature of a 'woke' feminist before concluding the character’s arc with his violent shooting death at the hands of 'Ladypool,' a character voiced by Blake Lively," a previous suit stated. It also claimed that Nicepool was "intended to be a transparent and mocking portrayal of Reynolds’ warped perception of Baldoni."
Baldoni has alleged that Nicepool's scenes were shot in January 2024, not long after an "ambush" at Lively and Reynolds' apartment, which saw Reynolds allegedly berate the actor and filmmaker, demanding he apologise for things he asserts he never did.
The whole thing is a mess and likely to go to trial next year. Baldoni's team wants to learn more about the making of Deadpool & Wolverine because, if their assertions are correct, it could be a game-changer for his $400 million defamation and extortion suit. Disney, however, is reluctant to play ball.
"The requested documents are particularly sensitive because they relate to the development of a character in an ongoing movie franchise," wrote the studio's counsel earlier this week. "Marvel has built the success of the MCU in large part by interconnecting storylines, plots, and characters across its titles, including 'crossover' events and sequels."
"Whether and how such elements will appear in upcoming, unreleased projects is the subject of much public interest, and this information is closely guarded by Marvel," the lawyers added.
In other words, any documents about Deadpool & Wolverine could inadvertently reveal what the future holds in store for the Merc with the Mouth.
After all, Reynolds is bound to have agreed to some sort of future appearance, even tentatively, and any insights into the creative process could lead to secrets being spilt that Marvel Studios would rather keep under wraps. How much a judge will care about that remains to be seen.
At this point, the whole thing is getting bogged down in legalese. However, depending on how far this civil case goes, there's every chance Marvel Studios and Deadpool & Wolverine will ultimately be dragged into what promises to be a lengthy, complicated court battle.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.