As the dust settles on the SAG-AFTRA deal, studios have now made it a race to see who can get their big tentpole back up and running faster. Deadline reported shortly after the announcement of the deal that movies like Beetlejuice 2, Gladiator 2, or Deadpool 3 are eager to get back to work as soon as possible to try to complete whatever they have left of production and meet their release dates.
When the Shawn Levy-directed Marvel film was forced to stop shooting in July, they’d completed about half the movie. This is what the director confirmed recently, before adding that he’s also edited that footage now. But they still have the other half of the script to shoot, and they are apparently going back to set before Thanksgiving. Why the rush? Well, Deadpool 3 is targeting a May 3, 2024, release date, and even though we thought that was a distant dream, Ryan Reynolds apparently doesn’t think so.
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In a post on social media following the announcement of the strike, Reynolds included the first picture of Dogpool, who will not only make its debut in the forthcoming film, but also come to the Disney stores at the same time. But here’s the important part: Reynolds closed the tweet saying “Coming with the movie, Summer 2024”.
Notice this doesn’t reiterate the May release date, as Marvel probably still isn’t sure they can fulfill those plans, but it does signal that they will at least be aiming for the July 26, 2024, spot that Captain America: Brave New World currently holds. And even despite that, it should be noticeable the fact that Disney still hasn’t officially announced any delays, even if two weeks ago they did say that both Elio and Snow White were being pushed into 2025.
They are keeping their options open as long as possible. Films like Thunderbolts or Blade are almost guaranteed to not be able to meet their December 2024 and February 2025 dates, as the former was weeks away from starting to shoot pre-strike, and the latter doesn’t have a finished script yet. So at some point over the next two months, they will have to announce yet another reshuffling. But they likely are waiting to see if the May date is at least doable for Deadpool.
Should Deadpool 3 even try to finish in time for May?
This is another interesting question right now, and the answer is probably no. Marvel does like that sweet beginning-of-May spot, where they typically open their Avengers movies or their big releases of the year. They clearly have a lot of confidence in Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and what they are cooking up. But if Barbie and Oppenheimer proved something this summer is to not underestimate that late-July window at the box office, especially if you can put together a viral marketing campaign. And Reynolds knows a thing or two about that.
At this point, it seems like they are slightly less confident in Brave New World. In theory, though, that movie should be ready for May 3 for a couple of reasons: that was its initial release date, and they didn’t change production schedules after the latest reshuffling, and that film also finished shooting just a couple of weeks after Deadpool 3 started.
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And of course, there is the argument of not rushing projects, which is something Marvel should have learned a thing or two about. This is a special situation, as the VFX houses working on the film have had the chance to work on whatever material was available these past few months, and as Levy said, they’ve also edited that part. But still, Levy and Marvel could probably use all the time they can get to finish this properly.
At least, though, they might not even stop for Thanksgiving: Levy and Reynolds are Canadian and Hugh Jackman is Australian. And since they are filming in London, most of the crew is probably British. Maybe they still have another four weeks of filming before the holiday break, which would probably leave them with another three or four weeks of production in January.
What do you think? Should Deadpool 3 try to come out in May, or should they just push it to July? How excited are you for the film? Let us know your thoughts on our social media, and stay tuned for more!
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