After the character’s considerable recent cinematic success, director Shawn Levy is now associated with his ability to bring Deadpool to life on the big screen. Ryan Reynolds’ turn as the Merc with a Mouth has earned huge praise from critics and fans of the character, with Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine proving the best of the three-film arc. As well as seeing the titular characters join the movies of the MCU, Levy’s movie played out like a love letter to the less-appreciated superhero movies of recent decades. And, with the film’s ending leaving things open for Deadpool’s MCU return, the director has naturally considered how to approach a potential follow-up.
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Speaking in an appearance on the On Film… With Kevin McCarthy podcast, Levy admitted that he has already begun to ask himself how to go about making Deadpool 4. Talking more widely about successful sequels, Levy explained that the success of movies like Avengers: Endgame or his own Deadpool & Wolverine stemmed from the filmmaker’s ability to be “able to tap into years of legacy storytelling.” He’s exactly right about how that contributes to the appeal of the modern superhero sequel, but it also highlights how difficult making Deadpool 4 will be, especially as things stand after the success of Deadpool & Wolverine.
Why Deadpool 4 Is Impossible To Get Right… For Now
Perhaps Shawn Levy’s comments are not the Deadpool 4 update fans wanted to hear, but they are incredibly accurate. Levy’s candid admission that he understands why Deadpool & Wolverine was so successful is encouraging, as it shows the director knows how sensitively another sequel must be handled. Knowing that the character’s next solo movie must be both a sequel and a fresh start in the MCU makes it a complex project, and one that isn’t even worth considering at this exact moment in time.
The initial Deadpool movie worked well due to the poor prior handling of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and its status as a proper origin story for the anti-hero, with its 2-18 sequel tapping into the same charm. Deadpool & Wolverine tied off the trilogy by laying a foundation for Deadpool’s new chapter in the MCU, but trying to capitalise on that tease too soon would likely undermine Deadpool 4‘s appeal. Levy clearly and eloquently outlines the real dilemma, as Deadpool 4 must work as both a sequel and the beginning of the character’s story in a whole new continuity.
Luckily, there is already a perfect template for how this can be achieved. By basing Deadpool 4 on a specific Marvel Comics story, these issues could all be resolved, but it means waiting until after the release of Avengers: Secret Wars. Allowing the dust to settle after Deadpool’s MCU introduction would be best anyway, but it would also afford an opportunity to carefully begin to build the foundation of the character’s new MCU story, eventually leading to that same rewarding pay-off that Levy so perfectly described.
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