“Deadpool 3” director Shawn Levy doesn’t know if the film will still make its planned release date of May 3, 2024 given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which went into effect on July 14, 2023.
In an interview with TheWrap for his upcoming limited Netflix series “All the Light We Cannot See,” all Levy could say about “Deadpool 3” is that he’s shot and edited half the film.
“I wish I knew. I don’t even know if we officially have [a release date]. I know we were gonna be May 3,” Levy said of the superhero sequel, which stars Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. “Certainly, the actors’ strike and the long pause in production have put that release date in true risk. We’ve shot half the movie. I’ve edited half the movie. We’re dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year.”
When asked about his attendance at a recent Kansas City Chiefs versus New York Jets game with Reynolds and Jackson, Levy neither confirmed nor denied rumors that Taylor Swift, who was also in attendance, might appear as Dazzler in the third installment.
“They sure are loud,” Levy said of Swift fans clamoring for her to play the musical mutant. “I’m going across the board. ‘No comment’ because that’s a double whammy. That’s Taylor-related. And it’s MCU-related. I’m no dummy. You’re going to have to wait and see.”
Swift, who is good friends with Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively, seemingly gathered the star-studded ensemble of Reynolds, Lively, Jackman, Levy and others including Sophie Turner and Sabrina Carpenter for the football game. The singer has been spotted publicly holding hands with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who may have sparked all of this from dream to reality back when he mentioned not getting to give Swift a bracelet with his number on it when he attended one of her “Eras” tour concerts.
Lastly, Levy also spoke about “Stranger Things” Season 5, which awaits the beginning of production after being delayed by the SAG-AFTRA strike.
“I can say that we are hoping to start filming as soon as possible. We really need the actor’s strike resolved first. The Duffers have been hard at work since the writer strike ended,” he said. We’re busy on a bunch of fronts because we also have our ‘Stranger Things’ play opening in London imminently. It’s fabulous. It’s f–king awesome.”
The stage production, titled “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” will take viewers into the past of Hopper, Joyce, the Wheelers and more when they were Mike, Dustin, Will and Lucas’ age.
“It has exceeded all our expectations. We’re very excited to share that with the world,” Levy said. “We are raring to go — our cast, our crew. Everyone not only needs to get back to work because we have many hundreds of crew members who have not been able to make a living since the strikes began, but we will be shooting very shortly after the actor’s strike ends.”
“All The Light We Cannot See,” Levy’s upcoming series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr, premieres Nov. 2 on Netflix.