Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool Makes His Avengers Pitch at Comic-Con, and It’s Exactly What Fans Expected

Marvel has kept fans guessing about Deadpool’s involvement in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ for well over a year now, ever since Ryan Reynolds first stirred the pot with a cryptic social media post that sent the internet into a frenzy. Despite the character’s absence from Marvel’s official cast announcements, the rumor mill has never fully quieted down, and this weekend’s Comic-Con panel only added another chaotic chapter to that ongoing mystery.

That chapter arrived in the form of Reynolds crashing Marvel’s Hall H panel dressed in a fully denim version of the Deadpool suit, a costume he later revealed on Instagram was inspired by the character’s grey, X-Force comic book look never before seen on screen. Introducing himself in character as Ricky, Reynolds played up the absurdity of the moment before turning his attention directly to the question fans actually wanted answered.

Reynolds asked whether there was any additional photography left on ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ effectively probing whether there was still time for Deadpool to be squeezed into the film. The exchange that followed offered one of the more telling responses fans have gotten yet about the character’s actual status within the movie.

Robert Downey Jr., staying fully in character as Doctor Doom, shot back that the film was already finished, joking that Reynolds should look around and ask if he had bumped his head. Reynolds, playing along, pressed further, asking again whether there truly was no additional photography, no overages, or any last-minute additions still possible before the film locked.

That is where things got genuinely interesting. According to reporting on the exchange, co-director Anthony Russo jumped in with a response that left the door open rather than closing it, joking that the filmmakers keep working on the movie until it is literally pried out of their hands. That kind of answer, delivered in the middle of an otherwise comedic bit, has only added fuel to speculation that Deadpool’s fate in the film may not be as settled as Downey’s joke suggested.

Reynolds has remained deliberately vague about his actual involvement in interviews outside of the Comic-Con stunt. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, he said directly that he had not stepped foot on the set of ‘Doomsday,’ adding only that he would not go further than that when pressed on the subject.

That kind of carefully worded non-denial has become something of a pattern for Reynolds throughout the film’s development, dating back to last year when he posted an image of the Avengers logo defaced with a red spray-painted A, a visual nod to graffiti seen in ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ that immediately sent fans into speculation mode. Reports at the time suggested Deadpool would indeed appear in the film in some capacity, though not as a formal member of the Avengers team itself.

Whether Reynolds’ Comic-Con bit was pure comedic theater or a genuine hint dressed up as a joke remains impossible to say for certain. Given Russo’s playful but pointed response about the film still being worked on, fans have plenty of reason to keep holding out hope that Deadpool’s story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not quite finished yet.

With ‘Avengers, Doomsday’ set for release on December 18, audiences will not have to wait too much longer to find out whether Reynolds truly does have a place in the film after all. Do you think Deadpool will actually show up in ‘Avengers, Doomsday’? Share your theory in the comments.