The merger between Disney and 21st Century Fox will see a lot of X-Men projects influx possibly not get made. Luckily, for Deadpool, Disney’s Bob Iger seems interested in keeping that franchise running along with Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman.

Despite some dour comments from Ryan Reynolds when he downplayed the prospect of Deadpool 3, screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese seemingly have a bit more confidence it will happen. While speaking with ScreenRant, the screenwriting duo admitted that the focus at the moment will be Drew Goddard’s X-Force.

RHETT REESE: According to the chronology that we’ve established, X-Force will be next, before Deadpool 3. It’s a bit of the “Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3” model, in that sense. X-Force isn’t being written by us. It’s being written and directed by Drew Goddard, or at least that’s the plan right now. We’re not involved with that one. We do anticipate there will be a Deadpool 3 at some point, but it’s just a little premature because it will definitely take a backseat to X-Force for the time being.

PAUL WERNICK: We’re constantly in touch with Ryan (Reynolds), and we’re always throwing ideas back and forth via text and phone conversations. So, it’s always at the front of our minds. We’ll get there when the time is right, but as of right now, X-Force is next up.

Naming the Iron Man release method might also suggest that everything will be in the hands of Marvel Studios, post-merger. X-Force is certainly worth waiting until Marvel takes over as it will give them an excuse to increase the budget and pursue A-list talent for new roles.

When and where writer-director Drew Goddard will get to begin shooting X-Force is slightly a mystery.

SOURCE: SCREEN RANT