Following Disney’s historic acquisition of 20th Century Fox and its precious IP, the live-action rights to Deadpool are now under the ownership of Walt Disney – and, by effect, Marvel Studios.
Exactly how the fast-talking (and decidedly R-rated) Wade Wilson fits in with the remainder of the MCU is a question for Kevin Feige and Co., but at least according to Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese – the screenwriting duo behind Zombieland: Double Tap and both Deadpool movies – the Powers That Be are hoping to continue the Deadpool series as is, before ultimately teeing up some kind of cameo and/or crossover for Ryan Reynolds’ anti-hero.
Those plans may change, of course, which was the resounding message from Wernick and Reese when they spoke to io9 in anticipation of Zombieland: Double Tap. Asked straight up about the Merc’s future in the MCU, Wernick replied:
The plan and the hope is that Marvel allows us to continue Deadpool in his R-rated universe that he lives in and also, hopefully over time, we get to play a little bit in the MCU sandbox as well.
Don’t get too excited, though; Reese was quick to add that Deadpool’s immediate Marvel future is still “undetermined” at the time of writing, meaning there is still much to discuss as we enter MCU Phase 4.
That’s not to say that Wernick and Reese don’t have their own ideas about where Wade Wilson should go next; here’s what the latter told io9 about integrating the Merc into the MCU.
Marvel’s a rich universe of both heroes and also, wonderfully, villains. So we would love to see Deadpool enter that universe in a fun way. It’s just about figuring out how and when. [Plus] Ryan [Reynolds] is very busy and the transition has delayed everything because you just don’t know. [Marvel Studios] is figuring out the next version of the MCU obviously and that’s its own beast. Then you throw Deadpool in there and the X-Men and stuff, and it’s crazy.
In short, while they, like us, are tremendously excited by the Disney-Fox merger, Wernick and Reese don’t know much about Marvel Studios’ overall masterplan and, more specifically, how it impacts Deadpool. Guess we’ll just have to make do with speculation in the meantime…