Deadpool 3: Shawn Levy to direct Ryan Reynolds in MCU sequel

Shawn Levy is looking to keep working with Ryan Reynolds as THR has reported that the director is in negotiations to helm Deadpool 3, the much anticipated sequel that will find ol’ Deadpool entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Levy would be the third director to tackle Deadpool, following in the footsteps of Tim Miller on the original and David Leitch on the sequel. Update: Ryan Reynolds confirmed that news on Twitter.

There have been rumblings that Shawn Levy might tackle Deadpool 3 so the news isn’t a huge shock, but it is a welcome one. After Free Guy and The Adam Project, Ryan Reynolds and Levy have shown that they have definitely have a magic spark. The director was asked about the possibility last year and said that he was a massive fan of Deadpool but that he’d only direct the sequel if he could make it in his voice.

I’m going to mostly skirt that question, which might be an answer. But I’ll answer the last part of it, which is: I’m a fan. I’m a fan of Deadpool, like a massive fan. And I’m a fan of the Marvel Universe and the way in which increasingly, individual filmmakers of real note can make and express with their own voice and vision through that franchise behemoth, whether it’s what Taika did with Ragnarok, what Eternals is going to be, what James Gunn did with Guardians. These are real films that also happen to be Marvel movies. So for the right title — because I only raised my hand on stuff where I know what to do with that, and there’s a few where I feel I know what to do with that. So we’ll see.

Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, best known for Bob’s Burgers, were writing the script for Deadpool 3 but THR says that original screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have now returned. Production could kick off later this year and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed last January that the film will still be rated R despite being set in the MCU. “It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan’s overseeing a script right now,” Feige said. “We’ve got a number of things we’ve already announced that we now have to make, but it’s exciting for it to have begun. Again, a very different type of character in the MCU, and Ryan is a force of nature, which is just awesome to see him bring that character to life.” What do you think of Shawn Levy directing Deadpool 3?

Shawn Levy’s most recent Ryan Reynolds film, The Adam Project, is now streaming on Netflix.