Deadpool’s Next (And Potentially Last) Big MCU Movie Might Be An X-Men Crossover

The films in Marvel and Fox’s Deadpool trilogy are X-Men stories in all but name. Ryan Reynolds’ merc with a mouth is, after all, a mutant — and even if he isn’t a member of Professor X’s super-team, he frequently partners with them to fight the forces of evil. X-Men like Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) have popped up in all three Deadpool films, and his latest adventure in Deadpool & Wolverine featured a crossover of epic, multiversal proportions. Hugh Jackman returned as Wolverine, as did other villains from Fox’s classic X-Men franchise. The film even pulled Channing Tatum’s Gambit (who we never got to see in action) from the fringes of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.

Deadpool & Wolverine notably stopped short of bringing the eponymous duo into the MCU proper, a choice that continues to puzzle fans. While Tatum’s Gambit will play a role in Doomsday alongside Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Cyclops (James Marsden), Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), Deadpool and Wolverine’s future remains uncertain. It may be a disappointment for those who’ve waited years to see Reynolds properly join the MCU and play opposite the Avengers — but the actor may have something else planned for his next outing as Deadpool.

With Deadpool & Wolverine in the rear view, Reynolds is reportedly exploring options for another Deadpool-centric Marvel film. Per The Hollywood Reporter, he’s “working on various treatments for an ensemble film featuring three or four X-Men characters.” Deadpool himself may wind up being a supporting player in this ensemble feature: according to a few sources, Reynolds would rather keep the character in a smaller role to allow for a more unique, “unexpected” exploration of the X-Men.

There’s no telling which X-Men Reynolds has included in his treatments, but there’s a sense that this new Deadpool project would align somewhat with the new X-Men film set in Marvel’s Sacred Timeline. Deadpool & Wolverine seemed to close the book on the Fox universe; even though the cast of the original X-Men films are set to appear in Doomsday, it’d make sense for other X-Men projects to focus on the future, rather than the past. Reynolds’ new Deadpool film could introduce the anti-hero to an all-new class of X-Men — but a new day for the mutant team may also mean the end of Reynolds’ time as Deadpool.

“I think Deadpool works so well appearing with the X-Men and Avengers, but he always needs to stay an outsider,” Reynolds told THR last December. “His ultimate dream is to be accepted and appreciated... If and when he does become an Avenger or X-Man, we’re at the end of his journey.”

Reynolds’s comments could explain why it’s taken so long for Deadpool to make the true jump into the MCU. We may not have much time left with the anti-hero, but if his next film is his last, at least it seems like Reynolds is thinking of ways to end his story on a satisfying note.