Ryan Reynolds surprises his fans as Deadpool – and fuels rumors in the process

At San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Ryan Reynolds surprised fans. The actor appeared in his Deadpool costume and staged a tongue-in-cheek "intervention" as the new Marvel movie "Avengers: Doomsday" was promoted to the fans in attendance.

Among the stars on stage was Robert Downey Jr., who once played Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and is now returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the villain Doctor Doom. Meanwhile, the masked Reynolds mingled with the audience. An interesting detail: The Hollywood star wasn't wearing the usual red Deadpool outfit, but a gray version reminiscent of the look from the "Uncanny X-Force" comics. Reynolds grabbed a microphone and said to the stars on stage:

"This seems like an awfully expensive way to announce a film. When do you start filming?"

Downey Jr. replied just as ironically:

"It's in the can, bro. Look around you. Did you bump your head?"

Doomsday: A massive star-studded cast

Of course, this back-and-forth is anything but serious. Still, it's likely to further fuel the rumors that have been circulating for some time now about a supposed appearance by Deadpool in "Avengers: Doomsday" (in theaters December 18, 2026).

That said, the film has more than enough star power to offer even without Reynolds. Alongside Robert Downey Jr., the cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, and Chris Evans. You can watch the first trailer for "Avengers: Doomsday" here:

A heartfelt Comic-Con clip from Ryan Reynolds

In addition to his humorous appearance, Reynolds also delighted his fans in other ways. At Comic-Con, he posed for photos with various attendees who had also gone all out with their costumes. He shared some highlights in a social media clip set to the Green Day song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and wrote:

"The fans got Deadpool off the ground so many years ago. Yesterday, 10 years after the first film and exactly 2 years after Deadpool & Wolverine, I felt so lucky to be on the #SDCC floor with everyone whose unapologetic devotion brings so much joy to this world."

What Reynolds says about the future of Deadpool

And what about another "Deadpool" movie? So far, no sequel is on the horizon. Recently, however, Reynolds spoke out on the matter – with a statement that offers hope. At this year's Fanatics Fest, the actor who plays Deadpool explained that the source material from the comics is far from exhausted – and announced that there will be another movie at some point. However, there has been no official confirmation of his statement. Especially since Reynolds spoke about the future of the popular hero a while ago, emphasizing that Deadpool will likely appear more as a supporting character in the future. So what can we expect: guest appearances in other Marvel movies? Or a new solo adventure after all? It will be interesting to see how Deadpool's future unfolds.

At the box office, the Marvel character played by Ryan Reynolds has certainly proven to be an extremely lucrative blockbuster hero. The first film, released in 2016 and directed by Tim Miller, grossed $782 million at the global box office. Two years later, David Leitch took the helm for "Deadpool 2," which grossed $785 million. But the biggest hit was yet to come, when Deadpool was paired in the third film with one of the most popular Marvel heroes of all time: the X-Men member Wolverine. Directed by Shawn Levy, the duo took the big screen by storm in 2024, with "Deadpool & Wolverine" ultimately raking in a staggering $1.3 billion. No wonder, then, that there is constant talk of another "Deadpool" movie.