Ryan Reynolds Confirms ‘Deadpool 3’ Will Feature Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

 

Well. Didn’t see this coming.

In a social media post, Ryan Reynolds laments missing D23 this year – where Marvel Studios unveiled a treasure trove of upcoming projects – but explains that he’s working very hard on the third Deadpool film, which will be The Merc with a Mouth’s first film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Reynolds then confirms that all this hard work has yielded … not much. Although does have one idea, revealed via an “impromptu” question to Hugh Jackman, who just so happens to be walking in the background at the time of recording.

“Hey Hugh, you want to play Wolverine one more time?”

“Yeah, sure, Ryan.”

So there Hugh have it: Deadpool 3 – which will indeed be part of the MCU – will feature Jackman’s return to the Wolverine character for the first time since James Mangold’s phenomenal Logan in 2017. We’ve also got a release date for the film: September 6, 2024.

The first Deadpool remains one of my favorite superhero films, and although its first sequel isn’t quite as good as its predecessor – the jokes simply don’t land as hard, in my opinion – I feel as though Deadpool has a lot of life in it as a franchise. Get it? Because ... dead ... nevermind.

Watch the video below!

Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/OdV7JmAkEu

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) September 27, 2022

The Buy Pile for July 31, 2013

This week’s Wednesday comic book haul is comprised of a healthy mix of new and old, with a predominantly Marvel selection due to the fact that A) I really dug The Wolverine this past weekend and B) I recently got my hands on the Deadpool video game, which has reignited my interest in The Merc with a Mouth in a major way.

Along with two Marvel trade paperbacks, Deadpool vs. The Marvel Universe and Vol. 3 of Mark Waid’s outstanding Daredevil run, here’s what I’ll be thumbing through tonight:

• All-New X-Men #14 
• Uncanny X-Men #9 
• Guardians of the Galaxy #5 
• Daredevil #29 
• Hawkeye #12 
• Wolverine: In the Flesh (one-shot) 
• Batman Annual #2 
• Adventures of Superman #3

Get Pumped for 'Wolverine 2: The Wolverine'

Okay, that headline isn‘t exactly accurate (as you’ll soon read), but I get a kick out of redundant movie titles. Yes, I‘m weird. What of it?

Hitfix reports that the follow-up to X-Men Origins: Wolverine helmed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Black Swan) won’t actually be a sequel at all. Aronofsky told the website that the film will be called The Wolverine, and should be considered a “one-off” as opposed to a true sequel to the lackluster 2009 X-Men prequel.

In other words, think of The Wolverine as a standalone graphic novel as opposed to a trade paperback collection.

I’m cool with the idea of Aronofsky not referencing the other films, but I sincerely hope he doesn’t mangle the series’ already shaky continuity. Otherwise, Fox is better off just rebooting the series and starting fresh (although with X-Men: First Class already in production, that’d be pretty stupid).

For the full story, click here.

Next Wolverine Flick Shoots in 2011

If you saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I’m pretty sure you were disappointed by it. If you weren’t, you really need to stop lying to yourself.

But even if you loathed the film for its poor handling of fan-favorite comic book characters (Deadpool and Gambit, for example) or its vehement disinterest in movie series continuity (that’s Sabretooth?), you should probably be at least a little excited that a sequel is on the way. Hey, at least these movies can’t get any worse. Filmmakers, please don’t mistake that for a challenge.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher McQuarrie (X-Men, Valkyrie) has finished a script based on Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s phenomenal 1982 Wolverine mini-series, which chronicled the clawed Canuck’s adventures in Japan. Hugh Jackman will once again play the title role, and the film is scheduled to begin shooting in January of next year. No director has signed on to the project.

“It’s a beautiful story,” an unnamed source told THR, “and will be very different than the first film.”

Different? It’s already headed in the right direction.

Bryan Singer to Direct X-Men: First Class

Last week, Bryan Singer announced he would be returning to the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class, a move met with nods of approval from the geek community. While not without its flaws, Singer’s original X-Men helped to once again legitimize comic-to-film adaptations when it hit theaters in 2000, after Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin utterly destroyed the genre three years earlier. Singer’s X2: X-Men United, released in 2003, remains one of the best superhero films ever released. Unfortunately, Singer later abandoned the franchise to lesser directors, leaving us with the lackluster X-Men: The Last Stand and the downright sloppy X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Singer said that his return to the franchise came about during a recent conversation with Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman. “We not only concluded a deal, but I’ve got a pretty concise treatment,” Singer said. “There’s a story that I really want to tell.”

While he would not reveal the specifics of that story, he said “it’s basically about the formation of the X-Men. How they began and the relationship between a young Xavier and a young Magneto.”

As fans probably know, a Magneto prequel was thought to be in the planning stages alongside another Wolverine film and a Deadpool spinoff. However, it seems like First Class will incorporate elements that would have appeared in the Magneto film.

“This story would probably utilize some of the Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto, so it might supersede that because this would explore that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust,” explained Singer.

But with all of these prequels and spinoffs, is the X-Men franchise spreading itself a bit thin? Singer doesn’t think so.

“The X-Men universe is boundless,” he said. “These are great characters. And as young characters, they are quite different than the characters we have seen in the contemporary movies.”

Ryan Reynolds: Green Lantern Won’t Be a Typical Origin Story

Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds told MTV’s Splash Page recently that while the upcoming film intends to introduce mainstream audiences to Hal Jordan, the titular DC Comics character, it won’t be like most drawn-out superhero movie origin stories. Rather, it will cut to the chase pretty quickly.

“It is [an origin story] to a certain degree, but it’s not a labored origin story, where the movie [truly] begins in the third act,” he said. “The movie starts when it starts. We find out Hal is the guy fairly early on, and the adventure begins.”

Reynolds also drew comparisons between this film, directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), and Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, saying that some of the best parts of the film don’t necessarily involve the Green Lantern saving the universe with his super-powered ring.

“I think you walk away from this first film, and the moments that you remember and the moments that mean so much to you, not unlike Iron Man, are the moments where the guy’s not in the suit,” he said. “That to me is the tough thing to get right. And that's something that they did get right [in Iron Man]. You see why this guy’s in the suit, and that’s what’s interesting to me. Not that he is in the suit, but why."

I was never the biggest Green Lantern fan growing up, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying what Geoff Johns has been doing with the character over the past few years—especially Green Lantern: Rebirth and the phenomenal Blackest Night. This could be a major ongoing franchise for Warner Bros. if they play their cards right. Casting Reynolds was an excellent start.

Meanwhile, Reynolds will also star in a Deadpool film after playing the fan-favorite Marvel Comics character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The spin-off has yet to enter production.

Wolverine Sequel Gets Oscar-Winning Screenwriter

The sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine may not suck after all. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher McQuarrie, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects, has signed on to write the next Wolverine flick. Hugh Jackman will return as the titular clawed Canuck in a story that will likely borrow heavily from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s 1982 Wolverine miniseries, which follows the popular mutant’s violent exploits in Japan. This is good news.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that McQuarrie is already familiar with this universe, as he was an uncredited writer on Singer’s original X-Men, released in 2000. This is also good news.

X-Men is a film series that deserves redeeming, so let’s hope that 20th Century Fox realizes what a massive cinematic misfire the first Wolverine was and moves the franchise in a completely different direction. But, then again, that movie earned $363 million worldwide despite poor critical reception, fan backlash and the fact that it leaked online a month before its release.

Damn. Maybe not.

Confirmed: Ridley Scott Returns to Direct Alien Prequel

After months of speculation, Variety confirmed on July 30 that Ridley Scott—who directed the 1979 sci-fi classic Alien—will return to the series to helm a prequel film. Twentieth Century Fox has hired Jon Spaihts (Passengers, St. George and the Dragon) to write it.

The film will apparently take place before the original, in which the crew of a commercial space ship is terrorized by a toothy, acid-blooded monster.

Do we necessarily need another Alien movie? Not at all. The series peaked in 1986 with James Cameron’s breathtaking sequel, Aliens, and unless this “reboot” aspires to that level of filmmaking there’s no real point in going through with it (save for the obvious exploitative monetary benefits). It’s also yet another prequel from the studio that brought us the half-assed X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this summer, which proved that adhering to established continuity is not only completely optional in doing these backstory films, Fox seemingly discourages it. That’s the only plausible explanation for how that film turned out.

However, with Scott now officially attached, consider my skepticism subdued.

Rupert Murdoch, Scientology Linked to Wolverine Leak

It’s old news that X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaked online on March 31—more than a month before the film’s theatrical release. But did you know that 20th Century Fox head Rupert Murdoch may have been indirectly responsible?

Let’s recap. After the film leaked onto the Internet, FoxNews.com showbiz columnist Roger Friedman reviewed the unfinished workprint. While Friedman’s review of the Fox-produced film was overwhelmingly positive, News Corp. accused him of promoting piracy and promptly fired him. He now writes for The Hollywood Reporter, and is filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against his former employer.

Friedman’s attorney, Martin Garbus, told the New York Daily News’ Rush & Molloy column that the pirated copy seen untold times through illegal online downloads can be traced back to Murdoch, who asked the studio to make him a DVD copy of the movie.

“Apparently, somebody made another copy for themselves,” Garbus said.

Friedman also claims that he was canned due to his frequent criticism of Scientology in his columns, citing a campaign spurred by Scientologist Kelly Preston—wife of John Travolta—to have him fired. While in Memphis attending the funeral of Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist, Preston allegedly saw Friedman at the Peabody Hotel and called him a “religious bigot.”

Friedman was later told to go easy on Fox’s Valkyrie, which starred noted Scientologist Tom Cruise. In addition, Friedman says his editors prohibited him from writing about the January death of Preston’s son, Jett. The Wolverine incident, Friedman charges, was the justification the company needed to finally give him the axe.

“I’ve seen how Scientology intimidates even the most powerful media,” said Garbus. “That seems to be what happened here.”

It’s baffling that this overblown fiasco is swirling around such a mediocre film.