Ryan Reynolds Won’t Let White Men Direct Deadpool 3?
With Deadpool 3 confirmed on its way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new rumor says Ryan Reynolds is looking for a women or POC to direct.
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At this point, Ryan Reynolds has been in four superhero films: 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 2011’s Green Lantern, 2016’s Deadpool, and 2018’s Deadpool 2, all of which have been directed by white men. With news of a third Deadpool movie coming, and the first Deadpool film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new rumor states that Ryan Reynolds would like this third Deadpool to be directed by someone other than a white man.
The rumor comes from We Got This Covered, who says their sources tell them Ryan Reynolds is pushing for diversity when it comes to Deadpool 3, with the star wanting a female director or person of color. Deadpool was directed by Tim Miller, who would go on to direct 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, and Deadpool 2 was from David Leitch, who had previously directed John Wick and Atomic Blonde.
Kevin Feige recently revealed that Deadpool 3 will be happening and will be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film will be R-rated, but won’t be starting production until 2022 at the When Disney purchased Fox, they regained the rights to many Marvel characters. However, while it looks as though characters from franchises like X-Men and Fantastic Four will start over fresh, Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool looks like he will be the only character simply moving over to the new studio.
It’s no surprise why, since Deadpool was the most profitable Fox property when Disney purchased the company. Both Deadpool and Deadpool 2 each made a little over $780 million each worldwide, against relatively small budgets for superhero films. Considering how beloved and successful Ryan Reynolds’ take on the character is, it’s no surprise that Disney would not only transfer him over, but make Deadpool 3 possibly the first rated-R Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
But with Ryan Reynolds coming over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an extremely profitable character, it looks as though he’s using that leverage to help diversity Marvel. Over the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only two directors – Ryan Coogler and Taika Waititi – have been people of color. The series has only had one female director so far, as Anna Boden co-directed Captain Marvel with Ryan Fleck.
It looks as though not only Ryan Reynolds but Marvel as well would like to continue diversifying their lineup of directors. Of the ten directors that have been confirmed for Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, six are either women are people of color. Black Widow will be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film solely directed by a woman – Cate Shortland – while Chloé Zhao and Nia DaCosta will also be directing Eternals and Captain Marvel 2, respectively. In addition to that, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther II, and Captain Marvel 2 will all be directed by POC.
But looking at the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s exciting to see a roster of exciting filmmakers that includes women and POC. If Ryan Reynolds is pushing for a Deadpool 3 that isn’t directed by a white man, he looks to simply be following in Marvel’s footsteps of trying to open up their lineup of filmmakers.
