In May 2025, Reynolds began writing a team-up ensemble film involving Wade Wilson / Deadpool and various X-Men characters.
Production
Development
In August 2024, shortly after the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine, star and producer Ryan Reynolds said he was unsure when he would next portray Wade Wilson / Deadpool.[1] That November, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said the studio was looking for ways to include Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine in future MCU projects.[2] In December 2024, Reynolds said he had some ideas for the character's future. He was reluctant to feature Deadpool as the lead character of a film again, saying that "works best if you take everything away from him and put his back against the wall. I can't really do that again. A fourth time feels a little iterative and redundant."[3] Reynolds expressed interest in the character appearing alongside the Avengers or the X-Men, but he did not want the character to join either of those teams because if he did, "we're at the end of his journey" and it would be the character's "wish fulfillment".[3][4] He felt Deadpool worked well in a supporting or ensemble role and had some "pitches and ideas" for that that would still be "fulfilling and powerful" for the character, wanting to keep him paired with Wolverine for future appearances.[3]
In April 2025, Reynolds reiterated he could see Deadpool appearing as a supporting character alongside the Avengers, believing he could portray the character in a supporting role to achieve "that feeling of gasp" similar to Wesley Snipes' appearance as Eric Brooks / Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine. He also said he was working on writing an ensemble project,[5] which was confirmed the following month to be various script treatments for an ensemble film centered on "three or four" X-Men characters alongside Deadpool. The Hollywood Reporter reported that using Deadpool in a supporting role would allow the X-Men characters "to be used in unexpected ways" and that Reynolds was working independently of Marvel Studios for the time being to figure out the film's concept.[4] At that time, The Wall Street Journal reported that the MCU crossover films Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) were expected to introduce the X-Men to the MCU and Feige had a ten-year plan for those characters.[6]
