Is 'Deadpool 3' the last movie? Indefinite stalling of production could be final nail in the coffin
The staggering success of 'Deadpool' spawned a sequel that raked in millions at the box office and elevated the popularity of lead actor Ryan Reynolds to astronomical levels. Obviously, we are forgiven for demanding a third 'Deadpool' film. However, filmmaker Rob Liefield is confident that it is going to be a long, long wait before we see the merc-mouth trash our screens again. Earlier, this month, Liefield had expressed uncertainty about the film and seemingly transferred the blame onto Marvel Studios. His comments were met with heavy backlash and an irritated Liefield had to clarify his statements, this week.
"Do I know that there is no movement on a 'Deadpool 3' right now? I know that. Yes," Liefeld told io9. "And does that worry me? No. Not at all. What I did was I answered a question honestly. And what I learned this week is just lie. Just tell people everything is lollipop and unicorns and rainbows and you’ll be better off in your life because people want to be lied to. Just because some guy goes, 'Yeah, We're still moving along', that's code for 'There's nothing to see here'."
While he was upset with how his words had been framed, he does stand by what he says as he believes that the lack of 'Deadpool' news should be blamed on Marvel. This isn't something venomous, but purely logical, he emphasizes. "Regardless of whatever inside perspective I may have, what I do know is that until a movie is put on a schedule, it’s not taken seriously," he said. "And what people don't like is that I have assessed the schedule for the next, give or take, five years and I don't see 'Deadpool' on it. [So] I don’t see that it can arrive earlier than that."
After 'Avengers: Endgame', Marvel had an elaborate plan. This plan was in place before Disney bought Fox, which resulted in the acquisition of Deadpool and other X-Men. The plan became more convoluted after the addition of the creative output of Disney+ which is why Liefield believes that his statement wasn't meant to vilify Disney by any means.
Considering 'Deadpool' was the only Fox superhero film that was doing pulling all the weight, this indefinite stalling of 'Deadpool 3' does seem to be the final nail in the coffin for the Fox superhero films. What began in 2000 with the first 'X-Men' film, with a stellar cast of Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellan, had a rather miserable end. There was renewed hope with 'X-Men: First Class' and 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past', as we saw younger versions of Xavier and Magneto, played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.
But, once again, the third film in the trilogy failed, and there was a sense of devastation after 'X-Men: Apocalypse' and 'Dark Phoenix'. The films did a severe disservice to the iconic comic storylines, as they were fragmented, disjointed and well, a mess. The mysterious Apocalypse, who could obliterate his enemies in seconds, was reduced to giving special haircuts and being defeated far too easily. The animated series had given a more eerie insight into the character, as compared to the film.
Jean Grey's powerful phoenix storyline has never been given the treatment it deserves in films, and sadly 'Dark Phoenix' made fans fondly remember 'X-Men: The Last Stand', another film that had butchered the Phoenix saga, but not as badly as the Sophie Turner film. Let's see how 'The New Mutants' turns out, and whether it propels the Fox superhero films back into their hall of fame.