After the unexpected success of 2016’s Deadpool and the equally gigantic success of 2018’s Deadpool 2, superhero movie fans can’t wait to see a third movie starring Ryan Reynolds as Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth. But unfortunately, there’s a couple of behind-the-scenes complications prohibiting it from reaching multiplexes.

Namely, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox earlier this year, and along with that, Marvel gained the rights to the X-Men characters, including Deadpool, so Deadpool 3 could be set in the MCU. Luckily, Marvel has no intention of messing with Reynolds’ perfect take on the character. So, here are 10 things we want to see in Deadpool 3.

A team-up with an MCU hero (or at least a cameo)

With his next solo movie, Deadpool will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, while it seems very unlikely that Marvel will allow ‘Pool to run his mouth in an Avengers movie and get it an R rating, there is a chance for an MCU character to make an R-rated cameo in a Deadpool movie.

In Deadpool 3, it would be great to see an MCU character in a cameo appearance, or even in a team-up. There are countless heroes that fans would love to see team up with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool on the big screen – Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Thor, Captain Marvel – so Marvel can take their pick.

Deadpool 2’s post-credits montage confirmed as canon

In the post-credits sequence of Deadpool 2, Negasonic fixed Cable’s time machine and ‘Pool used it to kill his X-Men Origins: Wolverine self, pre-Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds, and save Vanessa and Peter. Some fans have noted that, due to Avengers: Endgame’s time travel rules contradicting those in Deadpool 2, the Deadpool movies can’t be considered canon in the MCU.

But Deadpool can just gloss over plot holes when he addresses the audience. And maybe with Tony Stark’s “Time-Space GPS,” Deadpool can travel around the timelines and save the characters he wants to save and bring them back to his new timeline in the MCU.

All the supporting characters

Much like the MCU’s own best solo franchises – Captain America, Spider-Man, post-Ragnarok Thor movies, Guardians of the Galaxy etc. – the Deadpool franchise has a rich and interesting cast of supporting characters.

Morena Baccarin delivers both hilarious (complaining about a fictional tragic backstory) and poignant (reacting to Wade’s cancer diagnosis) moments as Vanessa; Brianna Hildebrand is hysterically deadpan as Negasonic Teenage Warhead; Zazie Beetz brings a breezy, carefree attitude to Domino; Josh Brolin plays Cable’s grizzled antihero as a straight man to ‘Pool’s zaniness; and it would be great to see Yukio and Russell’s roles expanded in future installments. Hopefully, these characters will still be in Deadpool 3.

Vanessa becoming Copycat

After the release of Deadpool 2, the first-act murder of Vanessa was criticized as an example of “fridging,” which, in comic books and fiction, refers to the killing of a female character to facilitate the development of a male character.

In the comics, Vanessa is a shapeshifting mutant with the superhero alter ego Copycat, so fans were disappointed to see her killed off before even discovering her powers. Luckily, the post-credits scene brought her back to life, so if this remains in the canon (which it should), she can still become Copycat and join the X-Force in Deadpool 3.

An R rating

Since any potential Deadpool 3 will be a Disney release, some fans are fearing that it will be rated PG-13. Fox finally relented and let Ryan Reynolds and co. give the world a faithful, R-rated on-screen portrayal of the Deadpool character.

Against all odds, it found tremendous success at the box office. And then the studio went and sold it to the Mouse House. The Merc with a Mouth thrives with the freedom of an R rating, and a PG-13 Deadpool movie just wouldn’t work. It’s not about relying on profanity or graphic violence as a crutch; it’s about the tone of the character and his stories.

The Merc with a Mouth joking about Disney

Now that the corporate entity in charge of Deadpool’s adventures is Disney, he’ll need to make some jokes at the company’s expense in his next movie. It seems doubtful that the studio would put up millions of dollars to market and distribute a movie in which Ryan Reynolds rips on their brand for two hours, but surely the executives have a sense of humor about themselves.

When he was at Fox, ‘Pool always went for the jugular, and the studio was a good sport about it. If Deadpool 3 doesn’t have at least a few Disney-related gags, it’ll feel disingenuous.

A post-credits scene teasing the X-Men

The X-Men are coming to the MCU, but it’ll be a while before Marvel figures out how to integrate them into the franchise (Kevin Feige has suggested that they might not even be called “X-Men”), or before the studio’s release slate can even accommodate their introduction. Meanwhile, superhero fans are eagerly anticipating a third Deadpool movie with Ryan Reynolds.

So, Deadpool 3 will probably arrive before any other X-Men movies. With this in mind, the threequel should tease the X-Men in a post-credits scene. It could even be a parody of Iron Man’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury telling ‘Pool he’s “become part of a bigger universe.”

Deadpool mentioning the Snap

It’ll be tough to get Deadpool into the MCU, since he’s already had two movies set in a completely different universe. But fortunately for Marvel, Deadpool is a very special character in that he’s 100% aware that he’s in a movie, being controlled by a Hollywood studio. All he has to do is mention the Disney/Fox merger and boom, he’s in the MCU.

Spider-Man: Far From Home had some humor about the effects of the Snap, but it was all in-universe; it wasn’t self-aware. If the Snap is still fresh in audience’s minds by the time Deadpool 3 finally reaches theaters, ‘Pool should make some meta jokes about it.

The real X-Force assembles

Under Fox, the initial plan with the third Deadpool movie and the upcoming X-Force spin-off was to release X-Force first to flesh out its characters in time for their appearance in Deadpool 3. However, these plans might change now that Marvel is in charge.

Since Wade Wilson is the only X-Men character not getting a reboot, it stands to reason that his next solo movie will be the first MCU entry to feature any X-Men characters. If this is the case, as fun and unexpected as the fake-out in Deadpool 2 was, it would be great to see the real X-Force assemble on the big screen.

Deadpool becoming an Avenger

In Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson learned the value of family when Colossus and Negasonic recruited him to join the X-Men, and it led him to establish his own superhero team, the X-Force. It was really fun to see Wade in a yellow t-shirt with the “X” logo on it, making fun of the team’s camaraderie and its strong ethical code.

In Deadpool 3, it would be great to see him join the Avengers. The Avengers is a very different team than the X-Men, but it still has plenty of potential for parody. A post-credits scene could see Wade interviewing to join Earth’s mightiest heroes as the team establishes its new line-up.