Ryan Reynolds Finally Reveals Where Deadpool 4 Stands

So, in case you were already getting excited for Deadpool 4 after the huge box office win of Deadpool & Wolverine, maybe lower your expectations for a quick follow-up. Ryan Reynolds himself recently talked about what's next, and let's just say: patience will be required.

Deadpool's Next Move: Not on the Fast Track

Reynolds chatted with Collider and, when pressed for Deadpool updates, basically said he's in no hurry. Here's how he put it in his usual casually frank way:

'I have a few things written that I love. I don’t know. We’ll figure out when the time is right. I’m not in any huge rush right now to do anything.'

For anyone hoping this means scripts are about to get rolling, slow your roll. Reynolds added that, in his view, 'Deadpool works best on both scarcity and surprise, so jumping right back into it full-on right now is probably something I’m not going to do.'

Is Reynolds Actually Working on Something?

Short answer: kind of. Reynolds says he's always writing (which sounds like both an artistic outlet and a way to keep Deadpool jokes from backing up in his brain), but he isn't revealing what those scripts actually are. He teased that he wants the next Deadpool project to be something unexpected, which probably rules out a traditional sequel-for-the-sake-of-a-sequel, for now.

The Disney Factor...and the MCU Shuffle

A refresher: Deadpool burst onto screens in all his R-rated glory back in 2016, and there was all sorts of handwringing when Disney bought 20th Century Fox. People wondered how a violent, very not-family-friendly superhero would mesh with the family-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Clearly, those concerns didn't stop Deadpool & Wolverine from cashing in.)

Reynolds says his relationship with Marvel is 'really great'—he talks with the studio a lot and wants to help out on all sorts of projects, not just Deadpool ones. According to him:

'That character and that world is one in which anything is possible, and that in and of itself allows for so much freedom and storytelling...I gotta say, that Marvel team, those guys have been incredible, all of them, and I’m really, really lucky to have the opportunity to work with them the way I have, as intimately as I have.'

Deadpool's Wild Production Timeline (So Far)

• 2009: Reynolds first played Deadpool (sort of) in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Remember that? Most of us wish we didn't.
• 2016: The real Deadpool shows up in his own self-titled R-rated movie, changing the superhero game.
• 2018: Deadpool 2 doubles down on the chaos.
• 2024: After Disney's Fox buyout forces all plans for 'Deadpool 3' to reboot, we finally get Deadpool & Wolverine. It makes $1.3 billion and becomes the MCU's seventh-highest grossing film. So much for fears about Disney de-fanging the character.

Where the Heck Is Deadpool 4?

You'd think a movie that just made over a billion bucks would fast-track a sequel, but not this time. Marvel Studios is way more focused, for now, on finishing its two big Avengers projects: Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Here's the twist: Doomsday is supposed to pile on a bunch of ex-X-Men cast members from the original Fox movies. Everyone pretty much expects Reynolds' Deadpool to show up, but nothing’s official as of yet.

Meanwhile, Marvel's also putting together a full-scale X-Men reboot, rumored for 2028, right around the MCU's 20th anniversary. That means new actors, new storylines—possibly a new Jean Grey (Sadie Sink is apparently the frontrunner, if the Spider-Man: Brand New Day rumors are true), and a new director (Jake Schreier, last seen directing Thunderbolts*).

What does that mean for Deadpool? Well, at this stage, nobody is clarifying if Reynolds' version will get dropped into all that or hang out on the sidelines. There is some buzz about Secret Wars acting as a soft reboot for the MCU, which would leave Deadpool as the only franchise character aware of the original versions of everything. (This sort of meta shenanigan would definitely fit his style.)

On top of that, Reynolds has hinted his next Deadpool gig might not even be the lead role; maybe a supporting part, maybe a team-up—possibly even the start of something like an X-Force spinoff. Interpret that however you want, but for now the real answer is: nobody is making any official moves. Marvel and Reynolds are clearly keeping their options open while the rest of the MCU sorts itself out.

So, if you were hoping to mark your calendar for Deadpool 4, you're going to be waiting a while. But, at least for now, the studio and star both seem happy to let fans stew in expectation a little longer. Frankly, that’s probably what Deadpool would do, too.