Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy says a top priority for him and franchise star Ryan Reynolds is making sure the Merc With a Mouth stays "raw, gritty [and] grounded" as he makes the jump to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

During an interview with Collider, Levy confirmed that Deadpool 3 is scheduled to commence filming around May 2023 ahead of its November 2024 premiere. "On or about. Yep," the director said. "The truth is the more digitally CG-heavy a movie is, the longer time you need in post. But obviously it's the first Deadpool movie in the MCU. There's going to be no lack of visual effects. But it's also a North Star priority for Ryan and I to keep Deadpool raw, gritty, grounded in the ways that those movies have been and that all of us love."

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Elsewhere in the interview, Levy once again affirmed that Deadpool 3 would maintain the franchise's adult-oriented tone, graphic violence and all. “We are writing, rewriting, developing, prepping Deadpool every day now," he said. "It is such a blast to laugh every day. It is so delicious to hear and write and come up with these scenes where people are just talking foul. And the violence is in your face and hardcore, and it's very much a Deadpool movie. And it has Logan in it. And it has Wolverine in it. It's too fun. I'm having so much fun, and I haven't even hit the shooting floor yet... I have to say, developing a Deadpool movie is one of the most fun creative experiences of my life because it's not just that it's rated R. It's that it's so filled with self-awareness, and that makes in-writing very, very fun in a way that is unique to that franchise."

Deadpool and Wolverine Join the MCU in 2024

Directed by Levy from a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the tentatively-titled Deadpool 3 is currently slated to release in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024 to kick off Phase Six of the MCU, having been pushed back from its previously announced release date of Sept. 6, 2024. The film will mark Reynolds' first time playing Wade Wilson/Deadpool in a Marvel Studios production, with the previous two Deadpool films having been produced by 20th Century Fox as part of its now-defunct X-Men film universe.

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As Levy mentioned, Deadpool 3 will not only mark Reynolds' return as Deadpool, but also Hugh Jackman's return as James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine following his apparent swan song as the character in Fox's acclaimed 2017 film Logan. Deadpool 3 will mark the first time Reynolds' Deadpool and Jackman's Wolverine have appeared on-screen together since Fox's infamous 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (not counting the time-travel scene from Deadpool 2 in which an interaction was simulated by combining new footage of Reynolds with archive footage of Jackman).

Deadpool's On-Screen Journey So Far

Following his debut as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins, Reynolds reprised the role in 2016's Deadpool, which offered a more faithful depiction of the fan-favorite Marvel Comics character. The film was directed by Tim Miller from a screenplay by the aforementioned Reese and Wernick. The latter two subsequently wrote the 2018 sequel, Deadpool 2, which saw David Leitch take over as director.

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Following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, a third Deadpool film entered development, with Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin being tapped to write the script. However, Reese and Wernick were ultimately brought back into the fold. Levy was also announced as Deadpool 3's director, with the Stranger Things producer having already directed Reynolds in the films Free Guy and The Adam Project.

Marvel Studios' Deadpool 3 is scheduled to premiere in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024.

Source: Collider