Deadpool 3 Is Taking Forever To Make. Ryan Reynolds Explains Why

In 2016, Deadpool proved that an R-rated comic book movie could be extremely profitable (it garnered $782 million in worldwide box office sales) and set the stage for more movies like it. And yet, it's generally accepted that Deadpool would never have made his way to the big screen if it weren't for some well-timed leaked footage.

In 2011, Green Lantern (starring Ryan Reynolds) did so poorly at the box office and was so summarily derided by fans and critics alike that another Reynolds-starring superhero movie wasn't looking like such a hot idea — which was a pretty big problem since 2011 was also the year the gears started moving on a Deadpool movie in which Reynolds could reprise the role he (sort of) debuted in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Fox executives were willing to commission director Tim Miller to put together a test reel, but despite the quality of what Miller came up with, there was still concern that Deadpool could never be a hit. Then, in 2014, that Deadpool test footage leaked, and fans went so wild with excitement that it became clear a Deadpool movie had to be made.

Deadpool was a massive success, and its sequel also did well. But since the Fox-Disney merger people have been asking — will we ever see a Deadpool 3? On July 28, 2020, Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter to give an explanation for what's taking so long and how it relates to that original leaked test reel.

Reynolds has talked about the Deadpool leak pragmatically in the past. In an interview with Variety in 2017, he admitted that he knew the leak was an inside job. "I know that one of us did it," said Reynolds. "There's four of us. There's me, [screenwriters] Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Tim Miller, the director. One of us did it. We all sort of said at the beginning, 'Someone should leak it. Someone should leak it' but I'm 70 percent sure it wasn't me."

Deadpool — both the character and the film — is nothing if not tongue-in-cheek. Reynolds, likewise, promotes all things Deadpool with that same meta humor. In 2019, the actor posted a conspiracy board on Instagram to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the leak. Now, he's decided to both explain the lack of Deadpool 3 news and reminisce about the original leak at the same time — because it's, like, all connected, man. The Deadpool 3 delay is not about the novel coronavirus, it's not about the Disney merger, it's not about the complex timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's about the leak!

In a tweet, Reynolds dropped an Unsolved Mysteries-style video suggesting that what was really delaying a third film is the ongoing investigation into just who exactly was responsible for that bit of espionage back in 2014. "It's why the next #Deadpool film is taking so long," he explained. "Still trying to solve this. Happy #Leakaversary."

You see, the real reason there can't be a third Deadpool movie is because Deadpool, a real person, is so busy hunting down clues to crack the case and discover who is responsible for the leak that he doesn't have time to star in a movie. And that's the very serious explanation for why we're still waiting for Deadpool 3.