Deadpool 3 Likely Delayed, Missing From Disney’s Calendar

While they seemed to be rushing to very close to completing production before the actors went on strike last month, it now appears possible Deadpool 3 will not hit its original release date. During a call with investors yesterday, Disney presented a number of their big, upcoming plans — and Deadpool 3 was nowhere to be found on the calendar. Currently expected to see release on May 3, 2024, Deadpool 3 is absent from a theatrical release calendar which runs through the release of Inside Out 2 in June. Disney did not comment on the change yesterday, and nobody seemed to catch it at the investors call.

Comic Book Movie picked up on the move, though, calling it to the attention of fans and social media. Whether and when Disney will make the delay official is anybody’s guess; at this point, they haven’t said anything at all.

There is probably an argument to be made that a delay could be good for Deadpool 3. If they have a chance to do reshoots after the strikes are over, not only will they be under fewer time constraints, but star Ryan Reynolds, a member of the Writers Guild of America who was unable to perform writing duties on set during the initial production, could presumably inject some rewrites into the production.

You can see the calendar released yesterday below, which exists in stark contrast to an August 7 release where “untitled Deadpool movie” was still listed for May:

“Deadpool, for me, is kind of like an anxiety-inducing tightrope walk,” Reynolds told ComicBook.com in an interview last year. “I always think when I’ve got Deadpool just right, I’m speaking from experience from Deadpool 1 & 2, that I need to make it 30 to 40% percent better than it already it is. Even if I’m at the moment where I’m like, ‘This is perfect, this moment!’ Then, I stop and I go, ‘Okay, this has to be 30% better than it already is.’ It’s a stressful thing to get right, or at least right as far as I’m concerned.”  

Deadpool 3 seems to be servicing longtime fans in a lot of unexpected ways. Besides giving X-Men star Hugh Jackman a chance to suit up in a costume that looks pulled from Astonishing X-Men, the movie will also star Jennifer Garner as Elektra, and rumors suggest other former Fox/Marvel stars could reprise their roles for the pic. So far, at least Halle Berry’s Storm and Ben Affleck’s Daredevil have been explicitly rumored.

Deadpool 3 will be written by Bob’s Burgers‘ Wendy Molyneaux and Lizzie Molyneaux-Loeglin, with Deadpool and Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick reportedly also returning to contribute to the script. Additional cast members have not been confirmed at this time, but we do know that the film will be the first in the franchise to be released by Marvel Studios, following the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney.

“It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan’s overseeing a script right now,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige shared in a 2021 interview, in which he said Deadpool was “a very different type of character in the MCU, and Ryan is a force of nature, which is just awesome to see him bring that character to life.”

Deadpool 3 is currently expected in theaters on May 3. We’ll see what happens.