Did Ryan Reynolds Just Tease Ed Skrein's Return In Deadpool 3?

Skrein played Ajax, the villain of Deadpool (2016).

By Liam Crowley

All eyes are on Deadpool 3. Ryan Reynolds's superhero threequel has been the hot topic for well over five years now, as questions about the heavily Rated-R franchise's future arose as soon as Disney purchased 20th Century Fox. Worries were squashed fairly quickly as Marvel Studios announced that a third Deadpool movie was in development, it would be set inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it would retain its mature rating. Anticipation ramped up in Fall 2022 when Reynolds announced that Hugh Jackman would be reprising his role of Wolverine in Deadpool 3, complete with his comic accurate blue and yellow suit.

Beyond Jackman, Deadpool 3 has also added Jennifer Garner to star as Elektra, a role she played in the early 2000s in both a self-titled film as well as Daredevil (2003). Considering Garner's Elektra has no deliberate connections to the X-Men franchise that Deadpool exists within, this casting made it clear that Deadpool 3 would be a full-blown multiversal adventure.

That said, the third film is very much keen on keeping the magic of its predecessors, exemplified by the return of original stars Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni and more.

Will Ed Skrein Return in Deadpool 3?

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Ryan Reynolds is teasing the return of a familiar face.

Taking to Twitter, Reynolds shared a gif of the merc with a mouth from the original Deadpool (2016) skipping along the highway. The gif includes the dialogue "Francis," the name of Ed Skrein's villain from the first film.

While he insists on being called Ajax, his supervillain monicker, Skrein's character from Deadpool has the real name of Francis Freeman, something Wade Wilson taunts him for very often. In that film's culminating battle, Deadpool kills Ajax but makes a promise to be more heroic moving forward.

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Even though Skrein's Ajax is technically dead, Deadpool 3's utilization of the multiverse could mean he returns as a variant or the film goes back to a time where he is still alive. Ajax is also responsible for giving Wade Wilson the serum that turned him into the invulnerable Deadpool. Considering Deadpool 3 is rumored to include multiple variants of the titular mutant, Ajax could show face in a laboratory capacity, creating multiple Deadpools across the multiverse.

Deadpool 3 hits theaters on July 26th, 2024 and is scheduled to resume production in the coming weeks.

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