Shawn Levy On DEADPOOL 3 Status, Wolverine As Co-Lead, And Rumors Of SECRET WARS

Production on DEADPOOL 3 has been paused since mid-July, and director Shawn Levy has now given us an idea about how far along in filming they were before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight Canada, Levy said:

“Well, like the rest of our industry, or at least large swaths of it, we are paused – we were halfway through filming. It was a joy every day, and that chemistry [between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman] is, I have to say – spoiler alert – as relentlessly awesome as we had all hoped it would be. But, we are halfway through filming.”

With various X-Men expected to show up in DP3 and Marvel Studios’ upcoming AVENGERS: SECRET WARS (2027), Levy was asked if rumors of him directing both projects are true. “I’ve read those rumors, and that’s all I’m going to say.”

In related news, Levy teased the size of Wolverine’s role in the film. Describing it as a “two-hander” to Collider, it definitely sounds like he’s a co-lead, as it should be!

“You have two major movie stars together in a movie playing their most iconic signature roles – that is director heaven,” he said. “So the story, the tone, the movie itself leans into that gift of having Deadpool and Wolverine co-starring in a movie for the first time. So, we’re definitely not running away from that.”

Deadpool 3 (which will be R rated) is scheduled for a May 4, 2024 theatrical release, but that date will soon become an impossibility the longer these strikes continue. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – a pushback to 2025 isn’t outside the realm of possibility. Let’s wait and see how things play out.

Source: ET Canada, Collider