Ryan Reynolds is reportedly in the early stages of dreaming up a movie that would bring Deadpool together with the X-Men.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the star has been quietly working on treatments for an ensemble film featuring Deadpool alongside three or four X-Men characters, with the Merc with a Mouth potentially taking more of a backseat role.
Even though Deadpool & Wolverine raked in a massive $1.33 billion at the box office and became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, Reynolds apparently isn’t interested in headlining another solo Deadpool sequel.
“I’m more passionate about storytelling than I am about acting,” Reynolds told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “If I win, great. If I lose, I get to also feel like I was the architect of my own demise.”
The project, which is still in the very early stages, is completely separate from the X-Men film currently being penned by Hunger Games writer Michael Lesslie.
Sources told the Reporter that Reynolds thinks stepping Deadpool slightly out of the spotlight could create room for fresh, unexpected uses of the X-Men.
From bringing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine back and including characters like Colossus, Pyro, and Sabertooth, Reynolds’ previous work with the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had strong connections to the X-Men world.
While no X-Men characters have been confirmed yet, Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has publicly campaigned to play Storm. SZA also mentioned it would be “gnarly” to be part of Storm’s origin story in a superhero movie.
However, Reynolds also told the Reporter last year that Deadpool joining the X-Men or the Avengers might have unexpected results.
“His ultimate dream is to be accepted and appreciated,” he said. “But he can’t be accepted. His coping mechanism of deflecting shame through humor works only when used to pave over his many inadequacies. If and when he does become an Avenger or X-Man, we’re at the end of his journey.”
