Given that the two Fox blockbusters combined to earn over $1.5 billion at the box office, with each of them becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever made at the time, it’s getting easier to forget the studio had little interest in giving Deadpool his own solo franchise for the longest time.
Star and producer Ryan Reynolds had been developing the project since 2004, but it would be a dozen years before the Merc with a Mouth finally hit the big screen. Between those two points, he was effectively coerced into joining X-Men Origins: Wolverine after the studio made it clear Wade Wilson would be part of the prequel with or without him, but his perseverance ultimately paid off spectacularly.
Yesterday marked exactly six years since Tim Miller’s opening installment exploded into theaters, and Reynolds celebrated the occasion by sharing a series of throwback photos on Instagram, which you can see below.
Deadpool 3 has been in the works at Marvel Studios since late 2019, but there’s no word on when we can expect to see the irreverent assassin back on our screens. Reynolds is in the midst of a brief sabbatical from acting, with John Krasinski’s next directorial effort I.F. looking like it’s up next when he returns, so the wait for more self-aware superhero shenanigans goes on.