Ryan Reynolds has responded to a surprise Avengers: Doomsday writing credit listing the same way he tends to answer almost everything tied to Deadpool: with a joke. After a Marvel fan spotted his name in the Writers Guild of America’s directory, Reynolds posted a clip from Deadpool and Wolverine, where the line, “Not to brag, but I do not read,” lands like a wink at the whole mystery.
The clip is doing a lot of work because the credit itself does not answer the obvious question. Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are both listed among the writers associated with Avengers: Doomsday, along with Destin Daniel Cretton, and the directory shows 10 writers in all. That has been enough to send fans searching for a bigger story, especially since Reynolds has writing credits on Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, and Jackman has not previously had a Marvel writing credit before this listing.
What matters now is that the credit is real enough to be noticed, but not specific enough to settle what Reynolds actually did. His post did not confirm that he wrote part of Avengers: Doomsday, and it did not confirm that he or Jackman is in the cast. It only added fuel to a question Marvel has left open while the studio keeps the bulk of the cast under wraps.
That is where the friction sits. Reynolds is listed in a writing context, yet the listing may reflect something broader than the kind of screenwriting credit fans usually imagine. Anthony Russo said he and Joe Russo still have not announced the full cast of Avengers: Doomsday, even as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and James Marsden are among the original Fox-era X-Men returning in the film, according to the article. So the names that do appear are creating headlines, while the biggest names tied to the listing remain unconfirmed on screen.
Avengers: Doomsday is due in cinemas on December 18, and it opens on December 16 in the UK. For now, Reynolds has answered a credit listing with a clip and a joke, not with a straight explanation. That leaves the cleanest answer for readers the same one Marvel has offered so far: the credits are real, the cast is not fully confirmed, and the reason Ryan Reynolds is there is still the part nobody has explained.
