“Deadpool 3” director Shawn Levy confirmed to Collider that his team is targeting a May 2023 production start for the comic book tentpole. The film not only pairs Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, but it also marks Deadpool’s first outing in the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe. Levy assured fans the franchise will keep its R-rated “hardcore” violence even with the backing of the family-friendly Disney.
“We are writing, rewriting, developing, prepping ‘Deadpool’ every day now,” Levy said. “It is such a blast to laugh every day. It is so delicious to hear and write and come up with these scenes where people are just talking foul. And the violence is in your face and hardcore, and it’s very much a ‘Deadpool’ movie.”
For Levy, maintaining the franchise’s R-rated edge was integral when he agreed to direct the movie. The film will reunite Levy with Reynolds after “Free Guy” and “The Adam Project.” Levy betrayed his vision once before when he agreed to edit down his Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn comedy “The Internship” from R to PG-13. He’s not planning on doing that again with “Deadpool 3.”
“One of the few regrets in my career is that I got strong-armed into recutting ‘The Internship’ from an R to a PG-13. I still regret it because the R-rated version of Vince [Vaughn] and Owen [Wilson] in ‘The Internship’ was way better,” Levy said. “And the me of today would not have succumbed like the me of 20, whatever, 12 years ago.”
“Deadpool 3” writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick stressed earlier this year that Disney would not be screwing with the franchise’s R rating. “They are gonna let Deadpool be Deadpool, you know?” the duo told The Playlist. “It’s not like any particular joke may be the one that they say, ‘You know, that’s too far,’ that could happen, but to this point, it’s been nothing but support.”
“It’s been nothing but, ‘How can we help you?’ What from our universe would you like to use? How can we make your life easy? And we’re gonna let Deadpool be Deadpool. We’re not… this is not going to be the Disney-fied Deadpool,’” Reese added of Marvel’s views on the franchise’s future. “So they’re awesome, and now it’s up to us to come through and justify that faith.”
“Deadpool 3” is set to open in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024.