Why Ryan Reynolds Thinks 'Deadpool 3' Won't Actually Happen

There are only a couple of weeks standing between the world and Deadpool 2, but when you go see it in theaters, you should soak up every minute of it — it might be the last movie in the series. Ryan Reynolds says Deadpool 3 probably won't happen, and even though it's a bummer to think of anything but a long future for this foul-mouthed hero, it makes sense that things could end here.

Reynolds' comments came in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that went live on Wednesday, surprising fans who are hoping for a long life ahead for the Deadpool franchise. But according to the star himself, it just wouldn't make sense for who his character is to keep things going past this movie — unless something major changed.

Reynolds said:

“I don’t know that there would be a Deadpool 3. I really don’t. I feel like the character, in order for him to function properly within his own universe, you need to take everything away from him. I don’t think that you can keep doing that. I do see him as being a part of X-Force, obviously. I would love to see him in a team-up sort of thing, like a mano a mano or a great female character from the X-Men universe. I just think if you’re going to do another Deadpool solo film, you’ve got to really, like, get that budget down to nothing and just swing for the fences, and break all kinds of weird barriers, and do stuff that no one else can do.”

Obviously, none of us will know how Deadpool 2 ends until the movie hits theaters on May 18, but who would know better where the franchise should (or shouldn't) go next than Reynolds? More movies would be so much fun, but there's nothing worse than seeing one of your favorite characters wasted on a storyline that doesn't make sense, just for the sake of continuing the story. If Reynolds is trying to keep Deadpool from that fate, it makes sense that he'd be against another movie.

Reynolds' loyalty to who Deadpool, as a character, is has been clear from the very beginning. In fact, Reynolds kicked in his own money to make sure the original movie was made with no expense spared, even paying for the movie's writers to be on set six days a week during filming. It makes sense that he would want to make sure that if a third movie was made, it was done right.

However, if Deadpool did end up getting a third installment, Reynolds has a few ideas on how it could be done right. In fact, he said that it doesn't have to be a "big comic book movie" — it could even premiere at Sundance. OK, so that probably wouldn't happen, but it does seem like above all his priority is to make sure the movie wouldn't just be made to keep the franchise going; it would only be made if there was a story to tell.

"I do think that we could go to a lot of very unexpected places,” Reynolds told EW. “I’ll just put it that way, but I would love that.”

Reynolds is right — the beauty of a character like Deadpool, who's so different from more traditional comic book heroes, is that he can be unexpected and unpredictable. That means that if Deadpool 3 did happen, it would have the room to go to the extremes, but only if it made sense within his universe.

Who knows where Deadpool will go from here? It's hard to say for sure, but a third movie isn't necessary unless Wade Wilson finds himself with new stories to tell.