Back in July, SAG-AFTRA joined the Writer’s Guild of America to strike for actors and writers following the union’s own negotiations with movie studios not meeting expectations. The move has led to tons of Hollywood productions being stalled, including the long-awaited Deadpool 3 starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. As we continue to anticipate Wade Wilson’s entrance into the MCU, director Shawn Levy has shared how far the Marvel movie got into filming before it was shut down.
Levy, who worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project back to back before starting work on the Marvel movie, has taken the helm of the superhero project following Tim Miller’s Deadpool and David Leitch’s Deadpool 2. When the director was asked about how far along the upcoming threequel is, here’s what he had to say:
Well, like the rest of our industry, or at least a large swath of it, we’re paused. We’re halfway through filming Deadpool, co-starring Wolverine. It was a joy every day and that chemistry is as relentless as we all hoped it would be. … Our crew and the rest of us are awaiting a fair and equitable deal that ends these strikes and puts this industry, inclusive of our movie, back at work.
In a conversation with Deadline while Levy was attending the Toronto International Film Festival to promote Netflix’s All The Light We Cannot See, the Deadpool 3 director revealed that the movie was at the halfway mark in terms of what was shot. The production reportedly started rolling cameras on May 22, and it had a little over seven weeks in the can when the SAG-AFTRA strike was called and it packed up.
Deadpool 3 was filmed thus far in London’s Pinewood Studios and in other locations across London. The movie’s release date is currently slated for release in May 2024, but in an August earnings call with Disney, the company’s CEO Bob Iger failed to mention the movie when discussing the studio’s 2024 slate. We expect Deadpool 3’s current place among upcoming Marvel movies to change, but in the meantime Levy had some exciting things to share about the making of it, saying this:
Our movie is raw, audacious, very much R-rated and we went to great lengths to not shoot it on sound stages with digital environments. We wanted something that felt, grounded, real…You put Hugh Jackman in his most iconic character alongside Ryan Reynolds in his most iconic character; it’s more of a descendant of Midnight Run, and 48 Hours, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles more than it’s a descendant of Airplane.
Along with the return of Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson after over five years and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine coming back from the dead through some kind of multiverse loophole, the rest of the Deadpool 3 cast list is stacked, with Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen in new roles and Jennifer Garner even reportedly returning as Elektra.
Along with the SAG-AFTRA strike halting productions like Deadpool 3, it has also caused multiple major studio releases to be delayed since its actors cannot take part in press tours to promote its movies. Examples include Dune: Part Two, Kraven the Hunter and Challengers. We’ll continue to keep you updated on how the Hollywood strikes are affecting your most highly-anticipated movies here on CinemaBlend.
