Deadpool 3 Director Says Movie Is At True Risk
Deadpool 3 is one of the most anticipated upcoming projects in the MCU, but director Shawn Levy recently admitted that the film is at “true risk” of not hitting its planned May 3, 2024 release date (via IGN). In a recent interview, Levy said that half of the film has been shot and edited. However, filming was suspended in July due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, just two months after filming kicked off.
Levy said, “I don’t even know if we officially have [a release date],” adding, “We’re dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year.” In accordance with SAG-AFTRA’s stipulations for its union members, actors who are members are not allowed to work on studio projects. So, with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds both being members of the union, production of Deadpool 3 is on indefinite hiatus.
“I don’t even know if we officially have [a release date]. We’re dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year.”
Shawn Levy, director of Deadpool 3
Hopefully, the studios represented by the AMPTP will be able to come to the table and provide agreeable terms for SAG-AFTRA soon. The Writer’s Guild of America recently ended its strike after five months and made a tentative deal with AMPTP, which allowed many late-night shows to return to air and writers to go back to writing upcoming shows and films. There’s no way of knowing when the SAG-AFTRA strike will end at this point, which means there’s also no way of knowing when Deadpool 3 production will start back up.
If Deadpool 3 is delayed for months, it would be understandable that the release date would need to be pushed back from the May 3 slot, though that doesn’t mean fans won’t be disappointed. Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool R-rated films have been massive critical and commercial successes, and this one looks to be the most successful one yet.
Along with introducing Deadpool and Wolverine to the MCU, Deadpool 3 looks like it may properly introduce the X-Men.
Not only will the film be the first Deadpool film in the MCU after Disney’s acquisition of Fox, but it will also bring back Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who will also be making his MCU debut.
Along with introducing Deadpool and Wolverine to the MCU, Deadpool 3 looks like it may properly introduce the X-Men. While we got a glimpse of Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it was more of a glorified cameo than a proper introduction of mutants. With members of the X-Men being such prominent parts of previous Deadpool movies, it seems like this will be the first instance of the MCU fully integrating and embracing those characters.
If Deadpool 3 is delayed for months, it would be understandable that the release date would need to be pushed back from the May 3 slot…
Deadpool 3 will also have the unique honor of being the first MCU film to have an R rating, with Levy himself saying that the scenes shot so far should make the movie “a raw, audacious, very much R-rated” film.
Fans got even more hype when recent set photos showed Ryan Reynolds Deadpool alongside Jackman’s Wolverine, who finally donned the signature yellow comic-book-accurate costume for the first time. Add the fact that we’ll get to see more R-rated Wolverine fights like we got to see in 2017’s Logan, and you have the recipe for an absolute box office smash.
With previous Deadpool films breaking R-rated box office records, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Deadpool 3 become the highest-grossing R-rated movie yet. Hopefully, we’ll get to see it sooner than later. But unless something changes, you can expect to see it in theaters on May 3.
