Ryan Reynolds Writing Deadpool/X-Men Movie Treatment

In the aftermath of Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds remained firm that he did not see another solo Deadpool movie in his future. That was despite the film grossing $1.338 billion, a number that validated the extraordinary amount of creative control he wields over the franchise, and which proved he was the most valuable new player in the Marvel Studios arsenal. 

Now, nine months after Deadpool & Wolverine became the top-grossing R-rated movie of all time, Reynolds is quietly plotting his return to the character, but true to his word, it won’t be as the lead of a solo movie.

Reynolds is exploring ideas for a Deadpool movie that would feature X-Men characters, as well as continuing to script the Paramount comedy Boy Band after making writing a priority for much of this year before tackling other obligations, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

The multi-hyphenate is working on various treatments for an ensemble film featuring three or four X-Men characters. Deadpool would of course appear, but perhaps only as a supporting player. Reynolds is said to believe that keeping his f-bomb wielding anti-hero more on the sidelines could allow for the X-Men characters to be used in unexpected ways. Reynolds has been open about every Deadpool movie needing a strong reason to exist, and it’s possible this could provide the avenue he needs.

The potential film is separate from a potential X-Men movie that Hunger Games writer Michael Lesslie is penning for Marvel Studios.

There’s no word on which X-Men characters Reynolds is toying with, though Oscar-nominated Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, whom Reynolds honored at the National Board of Review in January alongside her co-star Ariana Grande, has publicly lobbied to play Storm in the MCU. Reynolds would need to defer to Marvel on any such casting decisions.

It’s extremely early days and far from becoming a reality, and Reynolds — known for tinkering with concepts he hopes to share with Marvel in the future — is working separate from the studio at this stage. It’s not unusual for Reynolds to go through many iterations before landing on the right idea; before Deadpool & Wolverine, one idea he pitched for Deadpool 3 was a low-budget road trip movie.

Reynolds has played in the X-Men sandbox before, with Deadpool & Wolverine featuring villains Sabertooth (Tyler Mane) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford), while X-Men such as Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) have been in all three Deadpool movies. He lured Hugh Jackman out of retirement as Wolverine, a character who likely will show up in an Avengers movie down the road. And he wrote a Deadpool & Wolverine role for Channing Tatum, who was long attached to a Gambit movie that never happened at Fox. Tatum will now appear in Avengers: Doomsday, along with stars from the original Fox X-Men movies such as Patrick Stewart (Prof. X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Alan Cuming (Nightcrawler) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique).

His focus on his writing came amid a planned break in filming. It also ended up coinciding with the high-profile legal battle between his wife Blake Lively and her It Ends with Us director/co-star Justin Baldoni (Reynolds has been named alongside Lively as a plaintiff in Baldoni’s suit, but Reynold’s attorney are requesting that he be dismissed). If the two sides don’t settle, a trail is set for next March.

Sources say Reynolds also continues to work on a rewrite of the script for Boy Band, a Paramount feature he would star in about aging members of a boy band. His close friend Jackman is keen to co-star, and the cameo possibilities are delicious to ponder. While Reynolds will still appear in front of the camera, the project is all part of a shift in recent years to producing and writing. There is no start date or release date for the film.

“I’m more passionate about storytelling than I am about acting,” Reynolds said in an interview with THR last year. “If I win, great. If I lose, I get to also feel like I was the architect of my own demise.”

At the time, Reynolds also told THR that he believed Deadpool could appear opposite the X-Men and the Avengers, but that the character joining those teams would have unintended consequences. “His ultimate dream is to be accepted and appreciated. But he can’t be accepted. His coping mechanism of deflecting shame through humor works only when used to pave over his many inadequacies. If and when he does become an Avenger or X-Man, we’re at the end of his journey.”

Reynolds noted something similar last month while suggesting that he might be working on an MCU pic. Said the star at the Time 100 Summit, where he was among the honorees speaking on various panels: “I like that he’s isolated. If Deadpool becomes an Avenger or an X-Man, we’re at the end. That’s his wish fulfillment, and you can’t give him that.”