Is Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday? That’s been a big question on the minds of fans for months, and was definitely a big question going into this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. And now that star Ryan Reynolds showed up in costume as part of a surprise appearance during Marvel’s big Hall H panel, we’ve got to ask, once again: Is Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday?
It’s the sort of question you would think would be definitively answered by the star appearing on the panel for the movie. But frankly, Reynolds’s whole appearance raised more questions than it answered, despite appearances to the contrary. So with that in mind, let’s weigh the evidence, shall we? Below, we’ll break down the argument for his appearance at SDCC supporting the “Deadpool is in Doomsday” theory, and conversely how his appearance actually cements that he’s not in Doomsday. And we’ll also ultimately come up with a judgement of our own, just the way Doctor Doom would want.
First, some context here. The whole of Marvel’s panel was heavy on audience participation, from journalist Josh Horowitz asking Marvel chief Kevin Feige for the umpteenth time, from his seat, whether Ryan Gosling will play Ghost Rider – followed by the announcement that Ryan Gosling would, in fact, play Ghost Rider – to the cast of Avengers: Doomsday showing up not on the regular stage, but a stage at the back of the audience, so the whole cast could do a victory lap up to the front of the venue.
And that continued when Robert Downey, Jr. called out to a “cosplayer” in the audience, who was, of course, Reynolds in costume as Deadpool. After getting handed a microphone (or maybe already having one), Reynolds began, “Long time listener, first time caller. My name is Ricky. That’s a mononym, like Cher or Madonna. And I’m just cosplaying hard right now.”
“Is there a question in there somewhere?” RDJ asked, pretending to be annoyed.
“I do, I do have a question,” Reynolds continued. “Actually two questions. The first question is for Mr. Paul Rudd. Where is Thor and why was he crying?”
You probably know what that is about, but in case you don’t, it’s a reference to the scene from Deadpool & Wolverine where a crying Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is holding a wounded Deadpool, which is then hand-waved away by the TVA (Time Variance Authority)… Thus becoming the number one question Reynolds and Hemsworth have been asked pretty much ever since.
“Uh, he’s a Wrexham fan,” quipped Rudd, referencing the football team Reynolds co-owns with Rob McElhenney.
“You know goddamn well why he was crying, Rudd,” Reynolds hissed, before continuing with his second question. “This seems an awfully expensive way to announce a film. When do you start filming?”
“It’s in the can, bro,” RDJ answered. “Look around you.”
“I see,” Reynolds said. “So there’s no additional photography. No overages, hot costs, maybe… Last minute additions.”
“We keep making the movie until they pry it out of our hands,” said co-director Anthony Russo.
“No further questions,” Reynolds continued. “Happy Hogan? Fetch the Audi. We’re leaving.”
At that, Reynolds made a heart and blew kisses at the stage while they announced “Ryan Reynolds!” just in case you weren’t sure.
So, that’s what happened. Let’s talk about what actually happened.
Point: Deadpool Is in Doomsday
Look, why have Ryan Reynolds come in costume as Deadpool if he’s not in Avengers: Doomsday? To quote Benoit Blanc: it makes no damn sense. In fact, while he did sneak around the convention floor all day taking pictures with fellow Deadpool cosplayers while speaking fluent French, they all didn’t know he was the “real” Deadpool until later. And his appearance on Saturday (July 25) was so secret, the actor didn’t even show up to Apple TV’s panel, where they were showing off his upcoming ’80s comedy Mayday – of which he’s the star and also a producer. If the goal was to just do a funny bit at the panel, why make it so that nobody was aware he was in San Diego all day until he showed up in the audience at Hall H?
If the goal was to just do a funny bit at the panel, why make it so that nobody was aware he was in San Diego all day until he showed up at Hall H?“
Instead, let’s overly parse two parts of the above “definitely improvised” bit. First, there’s Reynolds hissing to Paul Rudd that he knows why Thor is crying. It’s possible they may have oddly confided in Rudd about this secret, but Avengers: Secret Wars hasn’t even started filming yet. So the only real reason Rudd would be aware of where this scene takes place, and why, is if it was in Avengers: Doomsday.
The other part is Russo saying they’ll keep making the movie “until they pry it out of our hands.” That’s something the duo have discussed before… Even as they plan on beginning production on the sequel Secret Wars soon, they’re likely to be in editing on Doomsday until the last second. That doesn’t mean more production, necessarily, but the Russos have become masters of gelling characters together in scenes even when the actors were entirely unaware who they were acting against. Who’s to say Reynolds didn’t already film his scenes and they just haven’t integrated them into the final cut as of yet?
But perhaps more important is to remember that actors lie… all the time. There’s Andrew Garfield famously lying about his inclusion in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But Marvel actors have made a whole cottage industry of transitioning from joking about a “Marvel sniper” who will shoot them if they say anything to flat out denying things that later on turn out to be totally true. So if you wanted to, say, make it a surprise that Deadpool is in Doomsday, why not have him show up at your Hall H panel and be bummed out that they’ve already filmed the movie? It’s the perfect feint, right?
Counterpoint: Deadpool Is Not in Doomsday
Alternatively, let’s take his words at face value. Yes, Deadpool is part of the MCU, and yes he’s an enormously popular character who will almost certainly show up in Avengers: Secret Wars – along with everyone else from, probably, three Spider-Men to the cast of 1996’s scuttled pilot for Generation X (okay, probably not the Generation X folks).
So having Reynolds appear at Comic-Con in this capacity is a way of having the character, who is always comedically sitting outside of and commenting on the material he’s in, literally be outside the main action. Everyone actually in the cast is on stage. Deadpool isn’t welcomed to that fold yet, so next year when Marvel plugs Secret Wars, him making it to the main event will be all that sweeter. And while Anthony Russo does say they’ll keep making the movie, both RDJ and Reynolds make it clear that the production part is done. They’re locked with no reshoots. What’s in this already packed movie is already in the movie.
But the bigger part that points to Deadpool not being in Doomsday is if he is in the movie, why not be clearer about it? Why not welcome him on the stage? Why not clearly say, “you want to be in the movie? Let’s do it!” to get that pop from the crowd. When your big cast reveal is Peggy Carter – no shade to Hayley Atwell – why would you not go for the double-hit of “and Deadpool is in the movie, as well”?
With the entire future of Marvel Studios on the line with Doomsday, why wouldn’t you want to put a bankable star as a bankable character on the poster?“
Ryan Reynolds is a movie star who puts butts in seats (or streams at home). And Deadpool is an enormous success story, with each movie doing better than the last and becoming a global phenomenon. With the entire future of Marvel Studios on the line with Avengers: Doomsday, why wouldn’t you want to put a bankable star as a bankable character on the poster? Or in this case, on stage with the rest of the cast?
Ultimately, if you read through what was said, it’s just a stunt. And Reynolds’s suit isn’t even a movie costume, despite fans pegging it as the grey suit the character wore in Marvel Comics’s X-Force… It’s a blue suit with a Canadian flag that, on social media, Reynolds referred to as “Jeanpool.” The whole thing is a fun joke from an iconic jokester, exactly the sort of stunt Deadpool would pull off if he was real, showing up to the Marvel panel simply to razz the cast.
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Final Verdict: No, He’s Definitely in the Movie
Look, to contradict everything we just said, what we have here is what’s called a “confusing joke.” In fact, most of the Doomsday campaign has been characterized by odd choices, like releasing four teasers the Russos insisted were not teasers (they were “clues”). Then they opened a coffee shop at SXSW, they’re rereleasing Endgame with new footage they say is crucial to understanding the story of Doomsday, and at times have called the movie Phase Zero and insisted you don’t have to see anything else in the MCU before you see Doomsday.
So why wouldn’t they essentially confirm Deadpool is in the movie at their Hall H panel without ever saying the words? They spent three days teasing Latverian Witches at the Marvel booth with no payoff… You don’t think a confounding comedy bit with Reynolds is above them?
Perhaps part of it is that Reynolds filmed his part in the movie separately, and really did not interact with anyone else. Maybe he only filmed a small role in Doomsday, with the part getting bigger in Secret Wars. Either way, Deadpool is a character who sells movie tickets, and you know Marvel will bend over backwards to make sure he appears in the movie, surprise or otherwise. So yes, even with this perplexing Hall H appearance, and maybe even because it was so weird: Deadpool is in Doomsday.
Unless he’s not.
Either way, can someone please explain why Thor was crying? Paul Rudd? Please? Thanks.
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You can chat with Alex Zalben on BlueSky @azalben.bsky.social, or find him regularly yapping on the Comic Book Club podcast.