Rob Liefeld Pokes Fun at Deadpool 3 Delay in Ryan Reynolds Birthday Post

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld took to social media this morning to wish franchise star Ryan Reynolds a happy birthday — and make light of the recent Deadpool 3 delay. The film, which has been in development for years, had seemed like the end was in sight before the Screen Actors Guild went on strike and production halted. Not long after the strike started, Deadpool 3 disappeared from Disney’s 2024 release calendar, and last week, it was officially delayed. In response to all this, Liefeld shared an edited photo of himself and Reynolds from a prior set visit, depicting each of them as old and gray, and saying in his caption that the photo is from the Deadpool 3 premiere.

There is 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 post below.

“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 take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney.