Deadpool 3 is one of the movies that has been hardest hit by the SAG-AFTRA strike. The movie was in the middle of its production when the work stoppage took effect.
According to a new report by Deadline, it seems that the third installment for the Merc with a Mouth will be delayed by Marvel. The reports said that even if the strike ends in a few weeks, there won’t be enough time to reconvene the cast and crew to restart production.
It will take a gargantuan effort for the production team to re-assemble again. The writers may even have to take a look at the footage and decide whether there are things that need to be rewritten. Remember that Deadpool 3 started filming amid the WGA strike meaning the production didn’t have writers’ support.
Deadline’s sources said that Captain America: Brave New World, which was originally scheduled for May 3 before being pushed back to July 26, may move back to its first release date. The Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford-led film is reportedly in better shape as it finished filming before the strike took effect.
Marvel typically holds on to coveted release dates and may push for an early November release if the movie isn’t ready for a July 26th debut. The early November premiere has been pretty lucrative for Marvel with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s $859 million and Thor: Ragnarok’s $855 million.
It’s also possible for Marvel to delay Deadpool 3 even more to December 20, which is a slot that’s currently occupied by The Thunderbolts. The production for Thunderbolts was postponed in May during the start of the WGA strike.
Director Shawn Levy has prepared fans for the eventual delay of the film given that the Actors’ strike still hasn’t been resolved. The director said that only have of the movie has been filmed and edited.
“I don’t even know if we officially have [a release date],” Levy shared. “I know we were gonna be May 3. Certainly, the actors’ strike and the long pause in production have put that release date at true risk. We’ve shot half the movie. I’ve edited half the movie. We’re dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year.”
Deadpool 3 will retain the R-rating of the previous two films that were released under 20th Century Fox. The first two movies earned a total of $1.56 billion during their theatrical run and Levy doesn’t want to mess with the formula.
“I wasn’t going to mess with the DNA of that franchise,” Levy said. “Our movie is raw, audacious, very much R-rated, and we went to great lengths to not shoot it on soundstages with digital environments.”
He adds, “We wanted something that felt, grounded, real. … You put Hugh Jackman in his most iconic character alongside Ryan Reynolds in his most iconic character; it’s more of a descendant of Midnight Run and 48 Hours and Planes, Trains and Automobiles more than it’s a descendant of Airplane!
It will be interesting to see how Marvel reshuffles its schedules now that the Actors’ strike is taking too long to resolve. Our best guess is that Captain America: Brave New World will release first and Deadpool 3 will either release in early November or December.
