Deadpool 3: Zazie Beetz confirms she won’t be back for sequel

Deadpool 3 will feature the return of a number of actors from the previous movies, but Zazie Beetz won’t be one of them.

While speaking with Decider at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her limited-series Full Circle, Zazie Beetz was asked if the ongoing WGA strike was affecting Ryan Reynolds’ ability to improvise on the Deadpool 3 set. “Well I’m actually not in Deadpool 3, so I don’t know what they’re doing [about improvisation],” Beetz said. “I’m assuming they’re probably taking a pause. […] I’m excited to watch it.” Beetz played Domino in Deadpool 2, a mutant mercenary with the ability to manipulate luck.

While the WGA strike has prompted many movies and TV shows to hit pause while a deal between screenwriters and the studios can be worked out, Deadpool 3 is apparently still trucking ahead. As Ryan Reynolds is a credited writer on the film, this has led some to report that the actor won’t “legally” be able to improvise on the film. I guess that’s what reshoots and ADR are for.

Although Zazie Beetz may not be back for Deadpool 3, the sequel will see the return of Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio, Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus, and Rob Delaney as Peter.

Of course, the biggest addition to the cast is Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who finally broke down after being pestered by Ryan Reynolds for so many years. Reynolds recently said that Deadpool 3 will present a new challenge for Jackman. “I think [Jackman] was excited and what we pitched him was enough of a divergence from the character that he knows and the character that he’s left behind,” Reynolds said, “that it gives him something completely new to play and something that he’s really excited to do.” Clearly, all that pestering paid off. “I mean, I never stopped,” Reynolds said. “I was just pestering him like a gnat over the last many years. I actually just think… I believe in timing … and I think he was ready.“

Deadpool 3 was originally set to hit theaters on November 8, 2024, but Disney recently bumped the movie up to a May 3, 2024 release. As nearly every other movie on Disney’s slate was pushed back, sometimes by years, it was interesting to see the Deadpool sequel move up.