Disney’s D23 sizzle reel includes footage of Deadpool, reminding fans that Marvel Studios won’t reboot Ryan Reynolds’ X-Men movie character. Earlier this year, the blockbuster deal between Disney and Fox closed, allowing for Marvel Comics characters like the X-Men and Fantastic Four to return home to Marvel Studios. Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the characters are now under the purview of Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. At San Diego Comic-Con 2019 last month, Feige teased upcoming X-Men and Fantastic Four movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s expected Disney will reboot all Fox X-Men characters except Deadpool, who has found incredible success both with critics and fans through 2016’s Deadpool movie and 2018’s Deadpool 2. Ryan Reynolds originated the character in the much-maligned X-Men franchise prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but was also key to spearheading the character’s massively successful reboot and solo movie. Now, it’s still unclear whether Deadpool will join the MCU or remain separate, but Disney doesn’t want fans to forget they aren’t rebooting the character.
At the start of the Disney Legends Ceremony, attended by Screen Rant, to kick off D23 Expo 2019, the Mouse House screened a sizzle reel that included new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker footage as well as clips from some of the Fox properties they now own - like Avatar and Ford v Ferrari. Also included in Disney’s D23 sizzle reel was footage of Deadpool, who received rounds of applause from those in attendance.
It’s no surprise that Disney would include Deadpool in the reel since it’s one of the more lucrative franchises the studio acquired from Fox. Together, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 grossed over $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office. They’re also the two highest-grossing X-Men movies ever, both surpassing all main franchise films. That amount of success explains Disney not wanting to reboot Deadpool and keep Reynolds suiting up as the Merc with a Mouth for future movies. What remains to be seen now is whether Disney and Marvel Studios incorporate Deadpool into the MCU or keep him as an separate franchise. Both Deadpool movies were R-rated and fans want the studio to keep that going. The latest reports indicate Disney is considering making more R-rated Deadpool solo movies, but having him participate in PG-13 team-ups within the MCU.
Although it’s unclear what exactly Disney will do with Deadpool, perhaps some insight will arrive during the Walt Disney Studios panel on Saturday of D23. It’s expected Marvel Studios will tease their upcoming slate, but since much of it was already announced at SDCC 2019 last month, perhaps Feige will get to the projects they didn’t have time to touch on in Hall H - namely, Deadpool, X-Men and Fantastic Four. It seems unlikely, since those projects are still a few years away at minimum, but perhaps fans will finally learn what Disney has decided to do with Deadpool. If nothing else, at least Disney assured fans they haven’t forgotten about the Merc with a Mouth by including Deadpool in their D23 sizzle reel.
Next: Every Marvel Reveal We Expect At D23 2019
