Fox dropped a bit of a bombshell last week, announcing that not only wouldDark Phoenixbe June 17, 2025, but anUntitled Deadpool Moviewould hit theaters on December 21. The completely kept-in-the dark surprise project will reportedly be rated PG-13, a departure from the decidedly raunchy Merc with a Mouth adventures inDeadpoolandDeadpool 2.Ryan Reynoldsteased the film with an image of Deadpool reading a bedtime story to actorFred Savage, leading to speculation that the upcoming project will be aPrincess Bride-style revisit ofDeadpool 2that skips over the more R-rated aspects.
As it turns out, Reynolds himself is primarily behind keeping such a massive piece of news hidden from Hollywood. Collider’s own Steven Weintraub recently sat down withDark Phoenixwriter/director andDeadpoolproducer Simon Kinberg, who had nothing but awe for Reynolds' ability to both stir up the media and keep them in the dark:
Ryan Reynolds and his studio—but I will give credit to Ryan Reynolds more than anyone else—is extraordinary at figuring out ways to get around the system. And be clever, both in terms of getting attention when it comes to viral stuff and in terms of deflecting attention when it comes to something like this. In the same way that Beyonce and Kanye can drop an album out of nowhere, Ryan figured out a way to drop a movie out of nowhere.
Kinberg had much less to say about what the still-untitledDeadpoolfilm is about, offering up nothing about plot or structure other than Reynolds' impressive behind-the-scenes savvy.
“Zero percent am I answering anything. Zero percent am I answering that,” Kinberg said. “You’re going to get nothing on that than my admiration for the way that Ryan and the studio has managed to keep it a secret up to this point.”
The producer was a bit less tight-lipped when it came to another under-the-radar superhero project, theDoctor Doommovie from Noah Hawley, which the writer is juggling with his feature-directing debutPale Blue Dotand the third season of FX’sLegion.
He’s writing it. Right now he’s directing a different movie and so that’s his focus, is directing another movie, and obviously working on season 3 ofLegion…Noah’s a genius. And he’s a lovely guy, too, which is a nice combination.
For more on the untitled PG-13Deadpool,Dark Phoenix, andDoctor Doom, check out the links below:
