Deadpool

Will there or won’t there be a third installment for Deadpool?

That’s been a big question of late considering recent comments from Ryan Reynolds suggesting that as Deadpool’s cinematic universe grows larger, it may not make sense for the character to continue his solo series. On the red carpet for a major fan screening this week in New York, Reynolds was more hopeful that something would happen “down the line,” though he still did not commit to a third movie.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

When Fandango spoke exclusively to Deadpool 2 writers and producers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, they very much indicated that they intend to be writing Deadpool 3 while the X-Force movie is gearing up.

“Our hope is that we’ll be working on Deadpool 3 while they’re working on X-Force or getting [Deadpool 3] ready because we are going to stagger these things out,” Rhett Reese told Fandango. “It’s in great hands with Drew Goddard, so we’re excited.”

As for where the X-Force movie currently stands, Deadpool 2 co-writer and producer Paul Wernick added, “The script hasn’t been started yet – Drew’s off doing a movie right now, and I think he wraps in the fall and then I think he’ll turn his attention to X-Force at that point and I am sure we’ll be involved in some form or fashion.”

No current release date is set for X-Force, though if the script work won’t begin until the fall, there’s a good chance we may not see Deadpool and his X-Force cronies back on the big screen until late 2019 or 2020. As for whether the architects of the Deadpool Cinematic Universe feel the character can still exist in a world where Disney merges with Fox, the good news is that they don’t see him going anywhere anytime soon. “Absolutely. I think he will exist, there’s no doubt about it,” Wernick said.

Deadpool 2 is in theaters on May 18. Stay tuned for lots more with the folks behind the film later this week.