It’s wild to think about this now, especially as people are predicting massive opening weekend numbers for “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Still, there was a time, shortly after the Disney acquisition of Fox, when people thought the “Deadpool” franchise was dead. Thoughts about how Disney would want it to be PG-13 or wouldn’t want to inherit the universe that was created? Basically, people thought there might not be another ‘Deadpool’ film. And one of those people was none other than Ryan Reynolds.

Continue reading Ryan Reynolds Didn’t Know If He Would ‘Ever Be Playing Deadpool Again” After Disney/Fox Merger at The Playlist.

Up until now, many just assumed that “Deadpool 3,” aka “Deadpool & Wolverine,” was always going to be a team-up story with the two massively popular heroes. Well, apparently that wasn’t the case. And if Hugh Jackman hadn’t had an “epiphany,” fans might have been left with a very different superhero sequel.

READ MORE: Kevin Feige Says He Once Urged Hugh Jackman To Not “Undo” ‘Logan’ Ending Or Return As Wolverine

Speaking to EW, filmmaker Shawn Levy talked about “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and he dove into what might have happened if Hugh Jackman didn’t agree to star in the film.

Continue reading ‘Deadpool 3’ Was “Changed Radically” When Hugh Jackman Asked To Join The Film at The Playlist.

Ever since co-directing the “John Wick” franchise in 2014 and then splitting off on his own from partner Chad Stahelski, filmmaker David Leitch has been one of the most in-demand action directors on the planet. Almost taking the most recent “Jurassic World” reboot before rethinking it ultimately, since ‘John Wick 1,’ Leitch has directed a “Fast And Furious” spin-off, “Atomic Blonde,” “Bullet Train,” “Deadpool 2,” and his upcoming film “The Fall Guy” which opens tomorrow and stars Ryan Reynolds and Emily Blunt.

Continue reading David Leitch Says He Pitched Brad Pitt As Cable & ‘Deadpool’ Meetings Were Initially About ‘X-Force’ at The Playlist.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo weaves through memory to discuss the film “Knox Goes Away” with director and star Michael Keaton (“Batman,” “Beetlejuice”) and co-star James Marsden (“X-Men,” “Sonic the Hedgehog”). The film follows the story of Knox (Michael Keaton), a seasoned contract killer whose life takes a dark and unexpected turn when he’s diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease while also needing to help his estranged son (Marsden) before he loses his mind completely.

Continue reading ‘Knox Goes Away’: Michael Keaton & James Marsden On Their Crime Drama, Batman, ‘Sonic 3,’ & ‘Beetlejuice’ [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

As we all know by now, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” set for July 26, is Marvel Studios only film for 2024. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley event yesterday, Disney Chief Bob Iger predicted the film will be “one of the most successful Marvel movies we’ve had in a long time.” Clearly, the hype for the film is rising.

And it’s being further stoked by a new interview with Karan Soni, the actor who has played the Indian taxi cab-driving character Dopinder in all three installments of the “Deadpool” franchise so far.

Continue reading ‘Deadpool’s Karan Soni Says Ryan Reynolds Had Been Plotting Hugh Jackman/Wolverine Appearance For Years at The Playlist.

During 20th Century Fox’s run and control of specific Marvel properties, many “X-Men” projects never got made. Some of those included Channing Tatum’s “Gambit,” a James Franco-led “Multiple Man” project, a solo “X-23” pic from “Logan” director James Mangold, an R-rated “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” written by “Game of Thrones” co-showrunner David Benioff, and even two different takes on “X-Force” from director Jeff Wadlow (“Kick-Ass 2”).

Continue reading ‘X-Force’: Jeff Wadlow Says His Script Was Like ‘Red Dawn’ Meets ‘The Fugitive’ & Deadpool As A Villain at The Playlist.

If you watched the recent “Deadpool & Wolverine” trailer, which brought the whole “Deadpool” gang back together, mostly, you’ll have noticed three absent players critical to the “Deadpool” franchise. One is easy to explain. Following a sexual assault allegation and alarming behavior afterward (including talking sh*t about star Ryan Reynolds), T.J. Mackey is persona non-grata and no longer playing Weasel. Zazie Beetz once said she would love to return for “Deadpool 3,” but her character Domino is nowhere to be seen, and neither is Josh Brolin as Cable.

Continue reading Josh Brolin Says He’s Not In ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ & Jokingly (?) Suggests Beef With Ryan Reynolds “Maybe?” at The Playlist.

It would be hard to argue that “Deadpool” didn’t change the landscape of superhero/comic book adaptations. The successful R-rated “X-Men” adjacent film cemented Ryan Reynolds as a full-fledged action star and launched director Tim Miller as someone on the pulse of genre filmmaking. Miller would eventually exit “Deadpool 2” over creative differences to instead focus on working with James Cameron on “Terminator: Dark Fate” and David Fincher on their acclaimed mature animated anthology series “Love, Death & Robots.”

READ MORE: ‘The Marvels’ Tracks To $75-$85M Opening, Which Could Show The First Legitimate Signs Of Superhero Fatigue

Earlier this month, the filmmaker spoke with Collider, gave his two cents on the superhero fatigue narrative, and said the following, which has a glimmer of hope of things being turned around.

Continue reading ‘Deadpool’s Tim Miller Says Superhero Films Still Have “Tons Of Life” In Them & Helmed ‘Borderlands’ Reshoots To Work With Cate Blanchett at The Playlist.

Even though Hugh Jackman is pretty much universally beloved as Wolverine in the various “X-Men” films over the past two decades, there has big one major complaint about his portrayal of the character—his lack of costume. Sure, he has worn a superhero suit in several films, but none of them have even come close to the bright yellow and blue comic book costume he is famous for wearing in decades’ worth of Marvel Comics.

Continue reading ‘Deadpool 3’ First Look: Hugh Jackman Finally Wears Wolverine’s Iconic Suit In New Image From Upcoming Sequel at The Playlist.

Actor Matthew Macfadyen’s biggest and most notable role is easily HBO’s “Succession”—the weasely and cowardly Tom Wambsgans. And while that role and show are coming to an end this spring, Macfadyen doesn’t have to be worried about being out of work. The “Succession” actor has just bagged a role in the upcoming Marvel movie “Deadpool 3” opposite Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Continue reading ‘Deadpool 3’ Adds ‘Succession’ Actor Matthew Macfadyen at The Playlist.

Ryan Reynolds has teased a lot of “Deadpool” in the past, once suggesting that “Deadpool 3” in the 20th Century Fox era was going to be a road trip movie between Deadpool and Wolverine. Of course, that is happening now—at least a Deadpool and Wolverine movie in the new Marvel era, coming in 2024—but apparently, Reynolds had all kinds of ideas, including a Christmas movie.

Continue reading Ryan Reynolds Says He Co-Wrote A ‘Deadpool’ Christmas Movie, But It Was “Lost” To The Fox/Disney Merger at The Playlist.

Just about a month ago, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman blew up the internet with the reveal that Wolverine would be returning in “Deadpool 3.” Since then, people have been asking a lot of questions. How long has this been in the works? What is the film going to look like? Can Hugh Jackman turn in one more worthwhile Wolverine performance after “Logan?” Well, we don’t have answers to all of those questions, but Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman did shed some light on that in a new Variety profile.

Continue reading Hugh Jackman Says Wolverine/Deadpool Ideas Have Been “Brewing For A Long Time” & Envisions A ’48 Hrs.’-Esque Dynamic at The Playlist.

Though T.J. Miller and Ryan Reynolds seemed like best buds in the two “Deadpool” films, that doesn’t seem to be the case in real life, according to Miller. Apparently, something happened between the two actors that is making it so Miller doesn’t want to work with Reynolds again.

In an interview on The Adam Corolla Show podcast, T.J. Miller talked about his “weird” relationship with Ryan Reynolds.

Continue reading T.J. Miller Doesn’t Want To Work With Ryan Reynolds Again & Would Turn Down ‘Deadpool 3’ If Offered at The Playlist.

Yesterday afternoon, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman decided to go and light a fire on social media by announcing some “Deadpool 3” news. Specifically, the video revealed that Hugh Jackman is returning to the world of superheroes as Wolverine for one more film. And if you sift through the comments on social media, you’ll find that most of the reaction consists of fans losing their shit and being very excited by the prospect of seeing Jackman and Reynolds in the MCU.

Continue reading Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman Are Here To Answer All Of Your ‘Deadpool 3’ Questions With The Help Of Wham! at The Playlist.

When you look at the biggest franchises on TV and film, you wouldn’t be wrong to say that TV is dominated by “Stranger Things” and film is dominated by Marvel Studios. In the middle of both of those worlds rests filmmaker Shawn Levy, who is one of the producers of “Stranger Things” and the director of the upcoming “Deadpool 3.” And, apparently, the filmmaker is taking notes and trying to figure out how to bring those two worlds together. 

Speaking to Variety on the Emmys red carpet last night, Shawn Levy talked about his unique position as one of the filmmakers involved with both “Stranger Things” and the MCU.

Continue reading Shawn Levy Has Talked With Ryan Reynolds About A ‘Stranger Things’/’Deadpool’ Crossover at The Playlist.

Netflix’s Geeked Week is about to kick off this week and tomorrow, the streaming giant will be showing off some more of “Spiderhead,” a brand new futuristic mindbender from “Top Gun Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski, about convicts who are offered the chance to volunteer as medical subjects to shorten their sentence and then subject to experimental drugs that affect their emotional behavior.

Continue reading ‘Deadpool 3’ Writers Say The Film Is Staying R-Rated & Marvel Won’t Make A “Disney-fied ‘Deadpool'” at The Playlist.

With Sam Raimi‘s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” out in theaters screenwriter Michael Waldron (“Loki“) is now doing a bevy of interviews (our own can be read and listened to here). During those conversations, Waldron has been revealing some of the characters that were considered for the latest installment in the Multiverse saga but didn’t make the cut because Marvel squashed those ideas early on.

Continue reading ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Considered Deadpool & Namor; Benedict Cumberbatch Reflects On Passing On ‘Thor 2’ Villain at The Playlist.

These days, it’s become de rigueur for iconic, heavyweight filmmakers to either weigh in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its cultural hegemony or to be asked about it. One of those recent dissenting voices has been Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” trilogy), and while he’s criticized the genre in the past, he seems to like at least one modern superhero film.

While Coppola, like Martin Scorsese, has often complained about the soulless of the MCU, in a recent interview with Variety, the “Apocalypse Now” filmmaker admitted he very much enjoyed Ryan Reynolds’ “Deadpool,” the atypical, fourth-wall-breaking superhero movie with R-Rated gory action sequences, and raunchy comedic beats.

Continue reading Francis Ford Coppola Admits He Liked Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Deadpool’: “I Thought It Was Amazing” at The Playlist.

Director Shawn Levy and actor/wise-ass extraordinaire Ryan Reynolds have become a bit of a magic pairing. First collaborating on last year’s original sci-fi hit, “Free Guy,” the two have been singing each other’s praises in interview after interview, all usually while talking up what was going to be an even better movie, their next original sci-fi collaboration entitled, “The Adam Project.”

READ MORE: ‘The Adam Project’ Review: Ryan Reynolds’ Sci-Fi Adventure Is Built Around An Earnest Emotional Core

The film follows a pilot from the future named Adam (Ryan Reynolds) who jumps back in time and teams up with his younger self (Walker Scobell) and his father (Mark Ruffalo) to save the world from a person who has used time travel for their own nefarious purposes.

Continue reading Director Shawn Levy Talks ‘The Adam Project,’ His Ryan Reynolds Relationship, ‘Stranger Things’ S4 [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

John Cena has seemingly fully embraced his first superhero role as Peacemaker in both “The Suicide Squad” and the just-released HBO Max series, “Peacemaker.” I mean, the guy shows up to interviews dressed as the character. It’s clear the actor is excited about finally getting a mainstream superhero role. And in a new interview with the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, that enthusiasm seems to stem from the fact that he’s been rejected for several big superhero roles over the years.

Continue reading John Cena Says He Was Rejected For Roles In ‘Shazam,’ ‘Deadpool’ & Several Marvel Films at The Playlist.

Director Shawn Levy (“Stranger Things“) and actor Ryan Reynolds are out promoting their new sci-fi action comedy “Free Guy,” a rare studio blockbuster based on an original idea. They had recently reunited for the time-traveling Netflix pic “The Adam Project,” their close working relationship has fans curious if Levy might be considered to direct “Deadpool 3,” the R-rated sequel that might end being the first big “X-Men” film to be made under the creative control of Marvel Studios. 

READ MORE: ‘Free Guy:’ Ryan Reynolds Excels In This Heartfelt, Hilarious Action-Comedy [Review]

During an interview with Inverse, Shawn Levy was directly asked about an online rumbling that he might end up making “Deadpool 3” and if he’d be interested in working with Marvel, his response seemed to tease the possibility. 

Levy coyly responds to their question with a potential hint he might be in the mix for the directing job.

Continue reading Shawn Levy Addresses A ‘Deadpool 3’ Directing Rumor & Says He Would Love To Work With Marvel: “I’m A Massive Fan” at The Playlist.

What is a soul? Where do souls come from? And is life even worth living if everything feels hopeless? These are questions that are tackled in “Nine Days,” the debut feature from filmmaker Edson Oda. And helping answer those questions are the two leads, Zazie Beetz and Winston Duke, who joined The Playlist Podcast to talk about the new film, plus their Marvel histories.

Continue reading Zazie Beetz & Winston Duke Talk ‘Nine Days’ & A Potential ‘Deadpool’/’Black Panther’ Crossover [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

Presuming “Deadpool 3” doesn’t come out until 2023 at the earliest, it’s going to have been five years between films on this successful franchise. But since the project has hired writers — “Bob’s Burgers” writers Wendy Molyneaux and Lizzie Molyneaux-Loeglin — and clearly are developing this movie already, shouldn’t Marvel have already read a draft by now and have a sense of what kind of movie they want to make?

Continue reading ‘Deadpool 3’: Ryan Reynolds Hopes Marvel Is Up For Something “Wildly Divergent” In The Next Film at The Playlist.

OK, this is very odd, perhaps a strange sign of the times ahead of us where everything is under one branded-content monopoly. Following the Disney-owns-20th Century Fox synergy of “The Simpsons” and Marvel crossovers (the latest being a Loki-themed ‘Simpson’s short), the marketing heads at Disney (or just Ryan Reynolds, probably) have created a genius new marketing plan for “Free Guy” that’s also a little odd.

Continue reading Deadpool & Korg Team-Up To Promote Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Free Guy’ In Disney Synergy Mash-Up Reaction Video at The Playlist.

Though he’s long been ousted from that franchise — creative differences with star Ryan Reynolds means he wasn’t invited to return and direct “Deadpool 2” — former “Deadpool” director Tim Miller is still giving his thoughts about the merc with the mouth. In a recent interview with Inverse promoting the newest season of his surrealist animated anthology series “Love, Death & Robots,” Miller made some curious comments regarding the R-Rated nature of his 2016 hit iteration of “Deadpool.”

READ MORE: Director Tim Miller Talks ‘Terminator: Dark Fate,’ Collaborating with James Cameron & Innovation [Podcast Interview]

Miller’s quote touches on the global nature of well-constructed characters and storytelling, pushing back against the rigid parameters and misinterpreted implications of the rating system.

Continue reading Tim Miller Believes That ‘Deadpool’ Would Still Work Even Without The “R-Rated Parts” at The Playlist.