Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds joked that Deadpool 3 is "writing itself," a reference to the fact Marvel Studios appears to be taking their time bringing the Merc with the Mouth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's not easy adding a character from Fox's X-Men Universe to that shared world, of course, especially as mutants have yet to make their presence felt in the MCU.
The Deadpool franchise was a huge hit for Fox, and common sense says Reynolds will get to play Wade Wilson again before it's too late...the question is, which characters should join him there?
In this feature, we take a look at ten of the most exciting possibilities, including some returning fan-favourites, MCU regulars, and comic book heroes and villains who deserve the chance to shine here.
To find out who made the cut, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button down below!
10. T-Ray
T-Ray is a villain many fans expected to see in Deadpool’s first solo outing, especially as the history these two characters share is such a fascinating one and ties into the mercenary's origin. T-Ray claims that he is really Wade Wilson, and that "Jack" (who we all know better as Wade Wilson/Deadpool) actually stole his identity and killed his wife while on the run from Weapon X.
Deadpool, on the other hand, believes that T-Ray is "Jack," and the fact that both of these characters are so completely insane means we’ve never had a definitive answer either way.
This would be a fun way for Marvel Studios to reinvent Deadpool's origin story in a fun way, and there's an awful lot this threequel could do with a formidable villain like T-Ray, who has the ability to do everything from teleport to emit energy blasts and exhibit super strength.
9. Siryn
Deadpool has had a few love interests over the years, though Siryn remains a fan-favourite for many. The daughter of Banshee (who you may remember from X-Men: First Class), she has a sonic scream and is an incredibly powerful mutant.
Siryn met Wade Wilson during a battle with Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut, and he quickly became infatuated with her, going so far as to sleep outside her window in the X-Mansion. That’s because she showed him kindness when others rejected him, and as their relationship developed, Siryn managed to calm Deadpool down a little and convince him to do some good.
A change in the comic book’s creative team unfortunately meant that their budding romance never got to be fully explored, so it would be extremely satisfying to see the Deadpool threequel take this love story and really run with it.
8. Evil Deadpool
Despite embracing the comic books in many ways, Fox's Deadpool movies were definitely grounded in reality. In the MCU, it's easy to imagine fans embracing the wackier elements of the character, and so there’s no reason why we couldn’t see "Evil Deadpool" make an appearance here.
Wade Wilson can heal from pretty much anything and has lost everything from his head to each of his limbs over the years, so a psychotic villain collecting all of those and keeping them in his fridge didn’t exactly shock the Merc with the Mouth.
After Deadpool threw the body parts into a dumpster, they ended up healing and creating Evil Deadpool, a blood hungry psychopath whose goal was to kill everyone he came in contact with. Seeing the character on the big screen would be a lot of fun, and fits this franchise's weird tone.
7. Bob, Agent Of HYDRA
Marvel Studios holds the rights to villainous organization HYDRA, and that means Bob was off-limits to Fox. Marvel Studios can change that, though, and the dynamic between him and Deadpool is something which should absolutely be allowed to play out on big screen at some point.
Bob was just a normal guy without a job who joined Hydra for the generous wage and benefits package, and when Deadpool invaded the facility he was working at, he decided to take him.
Their relationship is certainly a bizarre one; Wade actually views Bob as a "pet" of sorts, though they do have a friendship beneath the surface. He wouldn’t bring a lot to Deadpool 3, in all honesty, but Bob having even in a minor role could bring a lot of laughs, while playing on the MCU's history.
6. Domino
Zazie Beetz was fantastic as Domino in Deadpool 2, but Fox barely scratched the surface with her. Now, Marvel Studios can take an in-depth look at what makes her tick, making her a lead character in Deadpool 3 and exploring those incredible "good luck" powers of hers in the process.
The great thing about Domino is that she can go on to be part of any number of franchises, with her history as a mercenary opening the door to appearances across the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It feels like Marvel Studios could have a lot of fun with the hero, and she's not someone who has to be restricted to a movie revolving around mutants. Heck, she could easily hold her own in a solo outing!
5. Death
There are two characters who have a relationship with Death: Deadpool and Thanos. The latter never got to explore that in the last two Avengers movies, and as nuts as it would be to see the Merc with the Mouth chatting away with Death herself, there’s no doubt some way of utilizing her in the next movie.
Because Deadpool can’t die, Death is in love with him, and Wade sets out to try and lose his healing factor so that he can finally be with her. There’s been arguments made over the years that Death is a figment of both Deadpool and Thanos’ imagination, but either way, the character looking to rid himself of his healing factor so he can finally die and escape his scarred existence could make for surprisingly powerful material on screen.
It just depends whether that's a little too heavy for a Marvel Studios blockbuster...
4. Spider-Man
With any luck, the plan is for Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures to continue working together for many years to come, keeping Tom Holland's Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There's a recent fans love this pairing, and this would be something of a dream team-up in Deadpool 3. By the time that threequel becomes a reality, it will have been a long time since Deadpool 2 arrived in theaters, so inserting Spidey into proceedings will generate a huge amount of interest.
There are tonnes of comic books for Kevin Feige and company to take inspiration from, and Sony would likely be happy with the boost a team-up with Deadpool would give Spider-Man's solo franchise.
3. Ajax
You’re probably wondering why we’d list a villain who already had a leading role in 2016s Deadpool movie. Well, as we soon learned after watching that movie, the version of the character we met there was a very early version of Ajax, and not the one best known to many comic book fans.
As you can see from the image above, after an early battle with the Merc with the Mouth, Ajax returns years letter with some serious enhancements to get his revenge. This would be a clever way of revisiting the franchise's history, and the returning Ajax could serve as a secondary villain to another of the bad guys listed here.
Skrein’s passion for the character has come across strongly in interviews as well, so it would also be nice to see the actor get another chance to further explore him, this time in the MCU.
2. Cable
Alongside Zazie Beetz's Domino, Deadpool 2's version of Cable also needs to return in Deadpool 3. Now that Marvel Studios has introduced the idea of time-travel, it makes perfect sense for this time-travelling mutant to make his presence felt in a bid to stop his post-apocalyptic future from happening.
Josh Brolin has indicated that he didn't really enjoy his time working with Fox, but returning to the MCU would no doubt greatly interest the actor and he seemed to get along with Ryan Reynolds.
Like Domino, Cable is a character who can make his presence felt across multiple franchises, and it would be no bad thing for him to perhaps try to take out the Avengers with Wade caught in the middle!
1. Wolverine
It was heartbreaking that Hugh Jackman's Wolverine never got to share the screen with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, and with his tenure as the clawed mutant over after Logan, we probably won't see him in the MCU. There's a chance Kevin Feige could convince him to return, but we're not banking on it.
A new Wolverine is bound to be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe sooner rather than later, of course, and using Deadpool 3 to introduce him would be no bad thing.
Hell, these two could be sent after The Hulk (a nod to Wolverine's first comic book appearance) in a star-studded adventure that cements their place in this shared world. Sparks always fly when Logan crosses paths with Wade Wilson, and this team-up would make Deadpool 3 a truly unmissable event.