Deadpool 3 Release Date Gets Disappointing Update From Director

The Deadpool franchise is about to turn a new corner, now that the rights to the character have officially moved from 20th Century Fox to Marvel Studios. Deadpool 3 has become a highly-anticipated part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's forthcoming slate, and is (at the time of this writing) scheduled to be released in May of 2024. That release date has been speculated about amid the still-ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors strike, as production on Deadpool 3 has been stopped for several months now. In a recent interview with The Wrap, Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy addressed the uncertainty around the film's release date, and confirmed that even he is unsure when the film will debut. Levy did also confirm that, for the time being, he has edited half of the movie based on footage that was already filmed.

"I wish I knew. I don't even know if we officially have [a release date]. I know we were gonna be May 3," Levy revealed. "Certainly, the actors' strike and the long pause in production have put that release date in true risk. We've shot half the movie. I've edited half the movie. We're dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year."

Will Deadpool 3 Get Delayed?

As Levy explained in an interview earlier this fall, Deadpool 3 was halfway through production prior to the strike's work stoppage. Amid the strikes, Marvel Studios also paused production or pre-production on their upcoming films Thunderbolts and Blade, as well as their upcoming Wonder Man Disney+ series.

"Well, like the rest of our industry, or at least large swaths of it, we are paused. We were halfway through filming Deadpool, co-starring Wolverine. It was a joy every day, and that chemistry is, I have to say, spoiler alert, it is as relentlessly awesome as we had all hoped it would be," Levy revealed. "But we are halfway through filming, we shut down, our crew and the rest of us are awaiting a fair and equitable deal that ends these strikes and puts our industry and certainly inclusive of our movie back at work." 

Who Is in the Cast of Deadpool 3?

Deadpool 3 will star Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, and Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen in currently-unknown roles. Jennifer Garner will be reprising her role as Elektra.

"I think you're giving me too much credit," Reynolds explained in a previous interview with Collider. "I don't believe that I'm responsible for Hugh coming back. I always wanted Hugh to come back. My first meeting with Kevin Feige when Disney bought Fox years ago, maybe three years ago, or three and a half, four years ago, I'm not sure, was about doing a movie with the two of us, a Deadpool Wolverine movie. And that was not possible at the time. And then Hugh just happened to call at that perfect moment and express that he'd be interested in coming back and doing this one more time. And the contents of that conversation, I'll let Hugh, because I know it's only inevitable that you and Hugh are going to speak at some point soon, I'm sure. I'll let Hugh answer that on his own. But he expressed interest in coming back, and then it was my job to take that to Kevin Feige one more time and sell it."

As mentioned above, Deadpool 3 is currently scheduled to be released exclusively in theaters on May 3, 2024.