Deadpool 3 is now filming, but Ryan Reynolds is not legally permitted to improvise lines

Last Updated on June 2, 2023

Ryan Reynolds has made a career out of his quick-witted, self-referential zingers. It’s a big reason why he was a perfect fit for the character of Deadpool, whose comic-book existence consisted of breaking the fourth wall and constantly quipping to the point where he had adopted the moniker “Merc with a mouth.” Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were able to capitalize on Reynolds’ ability to improvise on the regular and stay faithful to the character’s comedic sensibilities. The R-rated character is now venturing into the MCU with his clawed frenemy, Wolverine, for Deadpool 3. Filming is now underway, but Yahoo is reporting that Reynolds is legally not allowed to improvise.

Tinseltown’s production process is going to get complicated with the presiding strike from the Writers’ Guild of America continuing to lord over studios. While the projects that can proceed are heading into production, there are certain union stipulations that have the potential to inhibit certain filming aspects. As Deadpool 3 starts principal photography, an unfortunate loophole forbids Ryan Reynolds from improvising. While there is no rule against actors improvising, there are strict guidelines on writers not being able to change lines during the filming process while the strike is in effect, and Reynolds is an officially credited writer on Deadpool 3.

While Reynolds can make an argument for the rule as he would be incorporating the improvisation as a performer on the project, the fact that he is a producer on the film as well also throws a wrench into the method as multi-hyphenate positions like writer-producers have been asked not to contribute anything “writer-like” during the strike. Ironically, the first time Reynolds played Wade Wilson on screen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was during the last WGA strike back in 2007, and he had improvised much of his lines.

Deadpool 3 is one of the first big-budgeted studio films to go into filming with the script “as is” during the strike. Hopefully, the issue will get resolved as quickly as possible, and the production could at least go back to playing around with dialogue when the time comes for reshoots. Being the first official integration of fan favorites Deadpool and Wolverine into the MCU, it’s natural to assume Kevin Feige will take very special care of the situation to make sure the characters are utilized to their full potential.