Ryan Reynolds Addresses the Push for Deadpool & Wolverine to Return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Marvel Studios has mastered the art of turning fan speculation into a full marketing spectacle, and few actors play along with that game better than Ryan Reynolds. Between cameo teases and cryptic social posts, Reynolds has spent the past year keeping fans guessing about whether Deadpool and Wolverine will actually show up in the studio’s next big crossover event.
That guessing game escalated dramatically at D23, where Marvel opened its ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ segment with a recorded video message from Hugh Jackman rather than new footage. In the clip, Jackman directly pitched himself to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, asking whether the studio needed help rounding out the cast and adding that he could probably convince Reynolds to come along with him. Reynolds later shared that same video to his own Instagram, captioning it as a “hostage video” to lean further into the joke.
Now Reynolds is finally addressing that moment directly. Speaking on the red carpet for his new film ‘Mayday,’ Reynolds reacted to him and Hugh Jackman campaigning for Deadpool and Wolverine to appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ telling reporters it was crazy before adding that he meant what he said and said what he meant, then jokingly asking if that answer was vague enough.
That kind of deliberately cryptic response fits a pattern Reynolds has leaned into for months regarding his character’s status in the upcoming film. He’s previously claimed he hasn’t even stepped foot on the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ set, despite persistent reports suggesting otherwise, and has continued dropping suggestive social media posts and public appearances that only fuel more speculation rather than settle it.
The D23 stunt itself wasn’t an isolated moment either. Weeks earlier at San Diego Comic-Con, Reynolds crashed Marvel’s Hall H panel in full Deadpool costume, asking the cast when filming would start, only for Robert Downey Jr. to reply that the movie was already finished. Running a nearly identical bit across two of Marvel’s biggest promotional events within a matter of weeks has led many fans to treat the whole routine as unofficial confirmation, even though Marvel has never formally announced either actor’s involvement.
Neither Jackman nor Reynolds has explicitly confirmed a role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ and Marvel Studios has stayed publicly silent on the matter as well. Given how the studio handled Andrew Garfield’s repeated denials before his surprise appearance in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ there’s a well-worn precedent for actors deliberately misdirecting fans to protect a reveal.
With Deadpool and Wolverine having grossed $1.3 billion together in their 2024 team-up, the incentive to keep their potential involvement under wraps for as long as possible makes plenty of sense from a marketing standpoint. Whether that’s exactly what’s happening here or Reynolds is simply having fun with the ambiguity remains genuinely unclear.
With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ set for a December 18 release and the film’s cast list still technically incomplete according to Marvel, there’s plenty of runway left for an official confirmation, or a surprise reveal on the big screen itself.
Do you think Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are actually teasing their appearance in Avengers: Doomsday?
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