The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly producing new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its properties it finally opened the door for Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool to join the fun... but it took years before Deadpool & Wolverine hit theaters (and broke records). And the character's creator Rob Liefeld recently offered a Kevin Feige-related explanation for why fans were left waiting for so long.
Prior to its release, Deadpool & Wolverine was one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies hitting theaters. So it might be surprising that it took the studio so long to actually green light the threequel. During an appearance on the Millar Time podcast, Liefeld made some allegations about why Marvel dragged its feet in this regard. In his words:
[Feige] was just, I think, having trouble grappling with the fact that [Deadpool] was not his franchise. And my Disney insiders had told me for years - you wanna know why there's six years between Deadpool 2 and [Deadpool] 3? Because [Feige] didn't want to make it. He only made it because his goose had been cooked on so many flops, that they're like, 'We gotta greenlight this.'
Well, that's definitely one explanation for how things went down with Deadpool. While we should treat this as a rumor for the time being (especially since Liefeld doesn't like Feige), but it could offer some context into what was reportedly happening in the studio. Because it was strange how many years it took before Deadpool & Wolverine finally started production.
Liefeld's story might be conjecture, but he does offer some solid points. After all, there have been a number of MCU movies that have failed in the years since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters and became the highest grossing movie of all time. For example, The Marvels was a box office flop, while other titles like Ant-Man 3 struggled as well.
In addition to titles that struggled at the box office, other titles like Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder failed to resonate with audiences. The pressure was likely on at the studio, and Deadpool & Wolverine's success came at the perfect time. So that part of Liefeld's allegations about Kevin Feige seems logical.
Given how much audiences turned out to see Deadpool 3, I have to assume that we'll be seeing Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in their roles sometime in the future. While they weren't listed in Avengers: Doomsday's cast announcement, fans are definitely hoping to see them finally join the Avengers franchise.
The Deadpool franchise is streaming on Disney+ now, and the next MCU movie hitting theaters is The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25th as part of the 2025 movie release list.
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