Ryan Reynolds brought all of the foul-mouthed debauchery and heart of beloved Marvel Comics antihero Deadpool to the silver screen in recent years. But, with filming on the forthcoming Deadpool 3 on the horizon, Reynolds is reportedly pushing for the inclusion of a key aspect of Deadpool’s character that was omitted from the first two films: his sexual orientation.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Reynolds “very much wants” Deadpool’s sexuality to be explored beyond the heterosexual presentation of the character in previous films in the next one. The report also claims that Reynolds directly asked Marvel Studios president and keeper of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Kevin Feige to “make Deadpool openly bi.”
Portraying the Merc with a Mouth as bisexual would be more truthful to the character’s comic book origin, but still isn’t fully accurate to Deadpool’s sexuality. Deadpool is canonically pansexual, with the first explicit confirmation coming in 2013 when Deadpool writer Gerry Duggan stated Deadpool’s attraction to “anything with a pulse.” Making Deadpool bisexual still doesn’t fully sync with how the character identifies, but it is definitely closer to how fans, especially LGBTQ ones, have seen themselves in the character.
I think [Deadpool’s LGBTQ identity] could be played up more.
Ryan reynolds
The report falls in line with previous comments from Reynolds stating his desire for Deadpool films to provide representation and “reflect the world in very real ways.”
“The great thing about Deadpool is that we’re allowed to do things that other superhero movies don’t necessarily do. It’s something that I’d love to see more of,” Reynolds said at a 2018 San Diego Comic-Con panel. “I think [Deadpool’s LGBTQ identity] could be played up more.”
The change would also provide much-needed LGBTQ representation within the MCU. To date, the only acknowledgment of LGBTQ identities in the multi-billion dollar film franchise was a one-line character in Avengers: Endgame. Brian Tyree Henry is set to portray the first out gay MCU hero in the upcoming Immortals film.
On the other hand, the Deadpool films, which were produced by 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by Disney in 2019, haven’t shied away from portraying LGBTQ characters and kinks commonly associated with non-heteronormativity. Deadpool 2 introduced the first on-screen same-sex relationship between two femme heroes, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio.
The next shot at properly representing Deadpool’s sexuality on screen will be when the character officially joins the MCU in Deadpool 3, though, according to Feige, filming won’t begin until 2022 at the earliest.
Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons
