Deadpool Will Appear in New Marvel Sequel Ahead of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

The Deadpool film series is one of the most successful superhero franchises of the past decade, largely thanks to Ryan Reynolds‘ unforgettable performance as the Marvel antihero.

Related: Deadpool and Wolverine Have Already Been Recast, as Ryan Reynolds Casts Doubt Over MCU Return

The Success of Deadpool & Wolverine

The series, which mixes R-rated humor with comic-book action, launched with Deadpool (2016), continued with Deadpool 2 (2018), and seemingly concluded with Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024, which also saw Hugh Jackman reprise his role as Logan following several appearances throughout the X-Men film series and his own solo Wolverine trilogy.

With Disney having acquired 20th Century Fox Studios, Deadpool & Wolverine served as a farewell of sorts to the long-running Fox/Marvel era, while at the same time bringing both characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) timeline.

But despite that film’s huge box-office success ($1.338 billion worldwide), Reynolds’ future as Deadpool remains unknown. During the press tour for the 2024 film, the actor admitted that he wasn’t sure what the future holds for the character. “I have no idea if I’ll ever wear that Deadpool suit again,” he told Collider. “I hope I do — but I don’t know.”

Related: Goodbye, Ryan Reynolds: Actor Replaced as Deadpool in New Marvel Project

Will Deadpool 4 Happen?

For now, there are no plans for Deadpool 4. Last year, director Shawn Levy, who helmed Deadpool & Wolverine, discussed the challenge of continuing the series, telling Kevin McCarthy (via The Playlist) that he’s a fan of trilogies and that sequels are stressful to make.

Most recently, however, actor TJ Miller, who played the character Weasel in both Deadpool and Deadpool 2, told 101 WRIF Detroit that Deadpool 4 could still happen, adding that Reynolds’ idea for “the next Deadpool film” is “really good” and “really smart.”

Given the success of Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s hard to imagine Disney and Marvel abandoning the Merc with a Mouth (the same goes for Jackman’s adamantium-clawed X-Men). Nonetheless, neither character has officially been confirmed for future appearances.

Related: Goodbye, Ryan Reynolds: Actor Replaced as Deadpool in New Marvel Project

Will Ryan Reynolds Return as Deadpool in the MCU?

Meanwhile, rumors that Reynolds will reprise his role in Avengers: Doomsday (2026) continue (there are also rumors Jackman’s Wolverine will battle Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in the film’s opening sequence).

But there have been conflicting reports about both actors ever since the cast was announced.

Most recently, during an appearance on the TODAY Sunday Sitdown Live show, Reynolds expressed that Deadpool is a “supporting character,” suggesting that if he is going to return, it will likely be as part of a larger ensemble. And yet he’s still missing from the new film.

The upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover event features an extensive lineup of actors who return as their respective characters, including (but certainly not limited to) Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), and Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic).

Deadpool Will Appear Alongside the X-Men

Whether or not Deadpool will appear in Avengers: Doomsday remains to be seen; however, the character has been referenced in the upcoming second season of the hit animated series X-Men ’97, whose first season debuted on Disney+ in 2024.

X-Men ’97 is a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997) that continues the stories of characters such as Logan/Wolverine (Cal Dodd), Scott Summers/Cyclops (Ray Chase), Ororo Munroe/Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith), and Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale). It picks up years later to find them facing new threats without Professor Charles Xavier to guide them.

The first season received critical acclaim and won several awards. Now, a nine-episode second season, which is said to follow some of the X-Men characters who are divided across different eras in time as they work to get back home, is set to premiere on Disney+ on July 1.

The first official trailer for X-Men ’97 Season 2 recently premiered online:

While the trailer doesn’t outright confirm the appearance of Deadpool himself, the anti-hero is referenced through a cameo of sorts, with the mutant Morph (J. P. Karliak) turning into Wade Wilson’s potty-mouthed alter ego to battle an insect-like creature (he appears around the 1:29 mark), which is likely a callback to Morph’s transformation into the character in the X-Men: The Animated Series.

The X-Men Will Also Return in Avengers: Doomsday

Fans hoping to see the X-Men return in live action are also in for a treat, as several actors from the X-Men movies, as well as other non-MCU Marvel movies, are also returning.

There’s Ian McKellen’s Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, Alan Cumming’s Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romijn’s Raven Darkhölme/Mystique, James Marsden’s Scott Summers/Cyclops, Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier/Professor X (who also appeared in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), and Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy/Beast (who also appeared at the end of 2023’s The Marvels).

Channing Tatum also returns as Remy LeBeau/Gambit, as seen in Deadpool & Wolverine. As for the two titular superheroes themselves, we’ll just have to wait and see.

X-Men ’97 Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on July 1.

Avengers: Doomsday releases in theaters on December 18.

Would you like to see Ryan Reynolds return as Deadpool? Let us know in the comments below!