The long-awaited third film in the Deadpool franchise looks to finally be moving forward, with a frequent collaborator of star Ryan Reynolds officially tapped to direct.

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Shawn Levy first teamed up with the comedy star for last year's video game-inspired blockbuster Free Guy, which is now on Disney Plus, while they joined forces once again for this week's Netflix original film The Adam Project.

It has been confirmed that he will take the reins of the Marvel franchise for its trilogy-closing instalment, which will be penned by returning screenwriting duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who also worked on the first two movies.

No details have been released about what the plot could be, but producer Kevin Feige has confirmed that it will be set in the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, a development made possible by Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

Despite the mammoth success of the first two Deadpool movies, which both earned close to $800 million at the global box office, there has been a certain amount of uncertainty around the future of the franchise in recent years.

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That's because the character's R-rated sense of humour and penchant for graphic violence doesn't exactly gel with the family-friendly style the MCU has followed on the big screen since its inception.

Feige's previous comments have suggested that Deadpool will continue to be an R-rated franchise moving forward, but some fans are concerned that Disney could go back on this to make it tonally consistent with their other Marvel brands.

Only time will tell what their course of action will be, but the latest comment from Reynolds suggests that Deadpool's trademark katanas will be back in lethal action for the third movie.

He said in a tweet: "The third film in my Shawn Levy trilogy will be a tad more stabby."

Levy's involvement in the Deadpool franchise may have been. in the works for some time, with The Adam Project actually featuring a subtle reference to the Merc with a Mouth.

The first two Deadpool movies were directed by Terminator: Dark Fate's Tim Miller and John Wick's David Leitch respectively, with Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand and Leslie Uggams among the supporting cast.

The Deadpool movies are available to stream via Star on Disney Plus. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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