Why Having To Shut Down Production On Deadpool 3 Wasn't All Cons, According To The Director

Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2
(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

With both the writers and actors strikes over and in the rearview mirror, several productions that had been in the middle of filming are now back at work. Chief among those is the highly anticipated Deadpool 3. And while the delay in production has also resulted in a release date delay for the Deadpool threequel, that shift may have ultimately resulted in a better movie, according to director Shawn Levy

Levy recently spoke with Deadline while he was in the middle of shooting the movie, which was only about half completed when production shut down. Deadpool 3 is now the only upcoming Marvel movie set to release in 2024, and Levy said everybody has that very much in mind as they finish up the project. The director explained…

We’re happily back at work, and now that we know it’s coming out next summer, we are working our asses off to make the best movie possible and it’s feeling good.

Filming Deadpool 3 in two big chunks almost certainly feels strange, as everything had to shut down and then restart, but Shawn Levy explained that while he and Ryan Reynolds couldn’t make the movie during the strike, they certainly did talk about it, and doing so gave them “time to get to know and think about” the film in a way they hadn’t before production began. The end result is perhaps that both the star and the director have a better understanding of the movie now they did previously. Levy continued…

It does feel like we’re back at it freshly and more deeply informed about what this movie wants to be.

I'm sure many filmmakers have ideas in the middle of shooting that might make movies better, that they simply can't implement because there is no time. Time is the thing that Deadpool 3 actually received. 

Of course, what Deadpool 3 “wants to be” is anybody’s guess. Based on the Deadpool 3 details we have, it wants to be a movie so full of cameos that it seems like everybody who has ever been in a Marvel movie produced by anybody might appear at one point or another. There are so many rumors about cameos in Deadpool 3 that we’ve come full circle from worrying about spoilers to not being able to tell what is a spoiler and what isn’t. As such, fans will still be surprised by who appears in the movie because nobody can know exactly which rumors are true right now.

Of course, a movie that brings a steady stream of cameos can be fun, but that won’t in itself make a good movie. What else is going on in Deadpool 3 is where the real questions lie, and those questions may be exactly what Levy and Reynolds have been able to better answer following the strikes. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.