Deadpool 3 Delayed? Disney Release Update Could Spell Bad News For MCU Fans

It has now been five years since the release of "Deadpool 2," but fans hoping to see the upcoming third film in the series may have to wait even longer. In a recent earnings presentation, Disney, which is producing "Deadpool 3" as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, omitted the movie from the list of upcoming releases it presented to stakeholders.

Other MCU projects adorned the presentation, from "Loki" Season 2 to "The Marvels," but "Deadpool 3" went unmentioned on the slide deck. Other movies scheduled near the release of "Deadpool 3" were included in the presentation. The omission comes on the heels of news that the Ryan Reynolds vehicle has been pushed back from November 2023 to May 2024. In other words, it appears as though Disney is unsure about the future of the project, or at least questioning it enough to leave it unmentioned to investors.

After years spent matching writers to the project and hunting down a director, the film was finally in photography, with leaked images from the "Deadpool 3" set revealing some impressive pieces including a giant, decaying replica of the 20th Century Fox logo. But when SAG-AFTRA went on strike in July, production was halted as actors ceased work. Now, its future is once again in limbo.

The future of "Deadpool 3" has been up in the air ever since Disney acquired the rights to the franchise with its purchase of 21st Century Fox, officialized in 2019. The most crucial change necessitated by the purchase was the incorporation of Deadpool into the MCU. This raised obvious questions about what the movie might look like, with fans worrying that Disney's notoriously family-friendly content policies would water down Ryan Reynolds' motormouthed R-rated humor.

As the movie continued in development, fans were assured multiple times that Deadpool will remain Deadpool in the third film. Meanwhile, other storms were brewing as the project churned through writers and directors, finally bringing Shawn Levy aboard to helm. Principal photography began in May 2023. But just as it seemed like the project was finally on track, Hollywood's labor unions began their largest push in decades for fair compensation. The same month "Deadpool 3" started filming, the WGA strike impacted Reynolds by preventing him from improvising lines on the fly, as doing so would have been considered writing work. Finally, as the actors' union SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA on the picket lines in July, "Deadpool 3" ceased production entirely.

Given that the first two "Deadpool" movies were massive hits, with "Deadpool 2" pulling in about $735 million, the omission of "Deadpool 3" from Disney's latest earnings presentation feels like an ominous portent of yet another setback for the long-dogged project. Pending another official statement from the House of Mouse, how long the wait will now be is anyone's guess.