First Brady un-retired from football. Now, Hugh Jackman is bringing back the adamantium claws for Deadpool 3.
Ryan Reynolds confirmed the Aussie actor’s long-awaited return on Tuesday, September 27. “Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one,” the 45-year-old captioned a video via Twitter. Deadpool’s mouth was literally sewn shut in the critically-panned 2009 movie Wolverine: Origins, the only film Jackman and Reynolds’ superheroes previously shared the screen previously. However, that’s about to change.
“We’re extremely sad to have missed D23 but we’ve been working hard on the next Deadpool film for a good long while now,” the Canadian actor tells viewers from a living room in the clip. “I’ve had to really search my would on this one. His first appearance in the MCU obviously needs to feel special.”
Previous Deadpool films were produced by 20th Century Fox and existed in the same universe as other X-Men films. However, with Disney’s acquisition of Fox, Marvel Studios will now be able to incorporate mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Deadpool is the only franchise established pre-acquisition that is set to move forward under Disney.
A montage then shows the Just Friends actor hard at work, in deep contemplation in the forest, the kitchen and the bathroom. “We need to stay true to the character, find new depth, new motivation, new meaning. Every Deadpool [movie] needs to stand out and stand apart,” he says in a voiceover. “It’s been an incredible challenge that has forced me to reach down deep inside and I … I have nothing. Yeah — just completely empty up here. And terrifying.”
A figure walks into the background as Reynolds says, “But we did have one idea. Hey Hugh, you want to play Wolverine one more time?”
Jackman, 53, is already heading up the stairs as he casually replies, “Yeah, sure, Ryan.”
Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one.
pic.twitter.com/OdV7JmAkEu
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) September 27, 2022
Whitney Houston’s “And I Will Always Love You” starts blasting as the screen teases, “Coming Hughn.”
The teaser concludes with a Deadpool logo slashed by Wolverine’s iconic three claws before revealing the Deadpool 3 release date.
Jackman previously retired the iconic character after nearly 20 years with 2017’s Logan, which brought the superhero’s story line to a close.
“It’s still a character I hold close to my heart, but I know it’s done,” Jackman told Jake’s Takes in August 2021. “Tell that to whoever you want, but please tell it to Ryan [Reynolds]. Because he doesn’t believe it. He thinks I’m joking.”
The Adam Project star’s persistence paid off. Deadpool 3 will film in 2023, a source tells Us Weekly. “The next business priority for the family is to get Ryan’s Deadpool franchise back on track,” the insider says.
Blake Lively, who has been married to Reynolds since 2014, “has been a big supporter” and “believer” in the franchise since her husband got the green light for the R-rated superhero flicks. The Betty Buzz founder “has a voice on those movies because they’re a key part of the family business for her and Ryan,” the source notes.
The location is still being decided. Though Reynolds and Lively, who is pregnant with baby No. 4, are based in New York, Marvel Studios is based in Georgia, but the first two films were largely shot in Vancouver, the Aviation Gin owner’s hometown.
“Deadpool is a family project for them and the family will all go to wherever Ryan is shooting that one in 2023, with Vancouver being the preferred location because of Ryan’s roots and extended family there,” the source says.
For more on how Lively and Reynolds are preparing for their fourth child, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
