Marvel Studios' upcoming films Deadpool 3 and Blade are both currently scheduled to begin production on the same day, according to a new report.
Per Production List, the two Marvel Cinematic Universe titles will both commence principal photography on May 1, with Deadpool 3 shooting in Vancouver, Canada, and Blade set to film in both Atlanta and New Orleans. Brief synopses were also released for the upcoming superhero installments, with Deadpool 3's simply teasing "Another chapter in the raunchy, violent, and of course, hilarious Deadpool series." However, the synopsis for Blade is a bit meatier and reads as follows: "He is known to be a vampire hunter— half-mortal, half-immortal— who tries to rid the world of vampires as a way of avenging his mother, who was killed by a vampire as she gave birth to him." While light on plot details, the synopsis does confirm that the MCU version of the character will retain his comic book origin.
Blade is currently scheduled to be the final film of Phase 5 of the MCU, which began earlier this month with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Deadpool 3 on the other hand will kick off Phase 6, which will be the last chapter in The Multiverse Saga. Production on Blade was initially set to begin in late 2022 but was pushed back following the departure of the film's original director, Bassam Tariq. Creative differences were also reported to be behind Blade's delay, with star Mahershala Ali reportedly disappointed with the film's original shooting script. Michael Starrbury was later brought on to rewrite the screenplay replacing former writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
Patrick Stewart Teases Deadpool 3 Role
While Blade will be a reboot of the franchise and unconnected to the Wesley Snipes-led trilogy from the late 1990s and early 2000s, Deadpool 3 will be tangentially tied to 20th Century Studios' X-Men franchise, with both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising their respective roles as Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Logan/Wolverine. Patrick Stewart, who played Professor X in the X-Men series and a variant of the same character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has also hinted that he will reprise his role alongside Reynolds and Jackman, stating in February 2023 that he has "been told to standby. I know nothing more than that, honest." Marvel Studios has yet to confirm Stewart's casting in Deadpool 3 at this time.
Besides Reynolds and Jackman, The Crown breakout star Emma Corrin is the only actor confirmed for Deadpool 3, with the actor reportedly playing a villain who is not Danger. Leslie Uggams and Zazie Beetz have also been rumored to be returning from previous Deadpool films as Blind Al and Domino, respectively, but similar to Stewart, their casting remains unconfirmed by Marvel as of writing.
Blade will close out Phase 5 on Sept. 6, 2024, with Deadpool 3 arriving in theaters a few months later on Nov. 8 to kick off Phase 6 of the MCU.