There was already a lot of hype surrounding Deadpool 3 for bringing back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine following his previously-announced retirement from the role in Logan, but now it’s looking like the upcoming Marvel movie will be an even bigger affair than anticipated. In May, it was reported that James Marsden’s Cyclops, Fame Janssen’s Jean Grey and Halle Berry’s Storm will appear, which was enough to make this flick sound like the mutant version of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now it’s been rumored that Ben Affleck, another actor with ties to 20th Century Fox’s Marvel movies, may be involved with Deadpool 3.
According to Twitter user KC Walsh, a.k.a. @TheComixKid, Affleck was seen on the Deadpool 3 set, with the threequel having begun principal photography in England towards the end of last month. While Walsh has “no idea who he is playing,” the mere mention of Affleck being around this production has set off speculation that he’s reprising Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, whom he played in the 2003 Daredevil movie. Walsh acknowledged in a separate tweet that this is “likely,” but at the moment, there isn’t any information available to verify that.
Now, there is the possibility that Affleck just happened to be in the United Kingdom and was able to make arrangements to visit the Deadpool 3 set. After all, a couple years ago, Reynolds said that he’s often confused for Affleck, so maybe these two finally decided to meet up and see for themselves if the resemblance is uncanny or nonexistent. Still, given the rumored presence of some of the leading heroes from the original X-Men trilogy, along with rumblings of 2005’s Fantastic Four’s title quartet being involved, it wouldn’t be much of a shock if Affleck’s Daredevil, a fellow Fox-era hero, crossed paths with the Merc with the Mouth too.
Released on February 14, 2003, a little under three months ahead of X2: X-Men United, the Ben Affleck-led Daredevil movie saw Matt Murdock meeting Jennifer Garner’s Elektra and clashing with Michael Clarke Duncan’s Kingpin and Colin Farrell’s Bullseye. Garner reprised Elektra two years later for a spinoff, but plans for a Daredevil sequel ultimately fell through, and the role was taken over by Charlie Cox for the Daredevil TV series over a decade later. Affleck would on to play Batman in the DC Extended Universe, with his final outing in the cape and cowl occurring in the recently-released The Flash.
Given how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has explored the multiverse recently through the aforementioned Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the What If…? animated series and more, it’s looking more and more like Deadpool 3 will follow suit, specifically focusing on the Marvel movies made when the then-20th Century Fox, now known as 20th Century Studios, was a separately-run enterprise. As such, assuming Affleck is indeed participating as Daredevil, I’m eager to see to see him and Reynolds’ Deadpool share screen time. Although Daredevil has had humorous moments in the comics, he’s often depicted as being straight-laced and serious, and that certainly applied to Affleck’s version. So the thought of him having to deal with a fourth wall-breaking, certified goofball sounds too good to pass up.
Currently slated for a May 3, 2024 release, Deadpool 3’s cast already has plenty of other familiar faces and newcomers who are confirmed to appear, although Zazie Beetz did recently share that she won’t be back as Domino. The first two Deadpool movies can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, while Max subscribers currently have easy access to the Daredevil movie.
