Right, before we say anything at all, we just want to get one thing absolutely clear straight out of the gate — this is not a Deadpool & Wolverine 2 announcement. We've LFG'd and made special sock circles, but even the mighty Empire hasn't got the power to make that happen. Instead, perhaps more interestingly, this is a piece of news about a very intriguing project that Deadpool & Wolverine's Golden Trio — Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Shawn Levy — have been trying to get off the ground for some time: Boy Band.
Speaking to THR after having been named the outlet's Producer Of The Year for 2024, Reynolds was asked, perhaps unsurprisingly, what the future might hold for Deadpool after the third movie in the franchise smashed records at the box office this summer. As you'd probably expect, the Canadian star was pretty coy about the Merc With a Mouth's MCU future ("I have some pitches and ideas, but none of them center on Deadpool," he told THR); but he was a little more forthcoming about Boy Band, a long-gestating movie about the aftermath of young stardom that would see Reynolds and Jackman (who's currently in talks to co-star) play a pair of former boy band members who reunite in their middle age.
When asked about his progress on the picture, which would fall under his production banner Maximum Effort's first-look deal with Paramount, Reynolds shared a promising update on the project. "I’m on a second draft," said Reynolds. "The first draft was incredible and written by one of my favorite writers, Jesse Andrews [Me and Earl and the Dying Girl]. Now I’m on my lonesome." And while Reynolds — who would be looking to produce Boy Band alongside Shawn Levy — hasn't set any shooting dates yet and has no set-in-stone production schedule yet, he's already thinking about how he'll get it made.
"Shawn, Hugh and I are open to creative ways to make this movie at an absolute bargain," Reynolds shared. "A lot of members of boy bands — and there are a lot of them — had managers who left them high and dry. They experienced levels of fame that would be very difficult for anyone to navigate, let alone an adolescent, when you are farming out your self-worth to an audience of screaming people. It creates a kind of arrested cultural development. [...] This would be about people in their 40s and 50s trying to get their lives back."
While Reynolds had his very own Dancepool to stand in for him on Deadpool & Wolverine's spectacular opening sequence (which, yes, has made it onto our Best Soundtrack Songs Of 2024 list), the 'Bye Bye Bye' needle drop did at least demonstrate that Levy, Reynolds, and Jackman are no stranger to a boy band bop. And with Jackman's background in musical theatre and impressive singing chops — as seen in Les Misérables and The Greatest Showman — there's no doubt that our man Wolvie can hold a tune. So even though it may be a while yet before Boy Band power grabs its way to our screens, it's never too early to start getting hyped — or to start brainstorming band names. *NSNIKT, anyone? Mutant Boyz II Men? Hmm... leave it with us.