Why Marvel Rejected Ryan Reynolds' Original Deadpool 3 Pitch
The "Deadpool & Wolverine" trailer teases major multiversal mayhem for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Ryan Reynolds' original idea for the threequel would have been entirely different. While speaking with Empire, the actor revealed that he first pitched a "Rashomon" story involving the Merc With A Mouth (Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Reynolds didn't divulge details but discussed how it would have been "about Wolverine and Deadpool and something that they got into together, but told from three completely different perspectives." However, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige shot the idea down because he was still tinkering with the big-picture side of the MCU.
"The truth is, I wasn't even sure how to incorporate Deadpool yet," Feige said, adding, "I was very much thinking about how to bring mutants and the X-Men into [the MCU], and I thought it needed to be more than just playing the hits." A "Rashomon"-like film would have been interesting, but its creative framework probably wouldn't have allowed audiences to understand how the MCU now involves the batch of X-Men characters. In a 2021 X (formerly known as Twitter) post, Reynolds said that the "Rashomon"-style flick would have been a road trip movie.
While Feige rejected that concept, he didn't take complete creative control away from Reynolds. The Marvel exec added that the actor brought countless other ideas to the table, shaping "Deadpool & Wolverine." The highly-anticipated film is the first that folds 20th Century Studios' X-Men characters into the MCU, something fans have been patiently waiting years for.
Ryan Reynolds had tons of pitches for Deadpool & Wolverine
"Deadpool 3" had a wildly different narrative before Marvel purchased Fox and Hugh Jackman signed on to star in the threequel. Ultimately, the film had to be restructured to fit into the wider MCU, becoming the franchise's first R-rated entry. Since Marvel Studios faced its fair share of woes in 2023 and Disney CEO Bob Iger announced major changes to Marvel, all eyes are on how "Deadpool 3" will perform critically and commercially. Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Feige worked diligently to find the best possible story; Reynolds kept tinkering because it was crucial to get Deadpool's MCU debut right. "I went back to the drawing board, and I wrote up about 18 different treatments," he admitted.
One of his ideas? A low-budget Deadpool flick that would have been a sight to see. "Some of them [were] almost like a Sundance film, a budget of under $10 million, sort of using the IP in a way that they previously hadn't used, and I pitched bigger movies, and I pitched things in-between," Reynolds said. Based on the "Deadpool & Wolverine" footage we've seen, the picture looks to strike a fine balance between Marvel's typical shtick, while still delivering an emotional narrative that justifies Wolverine's inclusion.
"Deadpool & Wolverine" arrives on July 26.