Speculation is growing that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman could reprise their roles as Deadpool and Wolverine in 'Avengers: Doomsday.' Observant Marvel fans searching the Writers Guild of America's directory noticed that the screenwriting credits for the film include both actors among 10 writers who contributed to the project.
Reynolds has prior experience behind the page, having been one of the writers on 'Deadpool 2' and 'Deadpool & Wolverine.' For Jackman, however, the 'Doomsday' listing marks his first writing credit.
The main feature writing credits on the film belong to Marvel veteran Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron, the creator of 'Loki' and writer of 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.' The credits for additional literary materials, which do not appear on screen, go to McFeely, Waldron, Eric Pearson, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jeff Loveness, Andrew Lanham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Reynolds and Jackman.
The project has gone through major changes during its development. Cretton, who directed 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' was originally set to helm the film when it was known as 'The Kang Dynasty,' with Loveness attached to write. That version was reworked after Disney fired Jonathan Majors, the actor who played Kang the Conqueror.
After Cretton stepped down, the Russo Brothers came on board, joined by McFeely, McKenna, Sommers and Waldron, and the story shifted its focus to Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom as the main villain.
Variety has reached out to representatives for Marvel, Reynolds and Jackman for comment. Reynolds also appeared to acknowledge the writing credits with a cryptic post on X featuring a video from 'Deadpool & Wolverine.'
The credits for Reynolds and Jackman would seem to point to the pair writing dialogue for their 'X-Men' characters. Whether they will actually appear in 'Doomsday,' and to what extent, remains unclear.
The WGA directory itself carries a disclaimer about its listings: 'The information contained in the Find a Writer database is the most current and accurate available to Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE). Some of the data is self-reported by writers and not independently verified by WGAW and WGAE. Users of the database accept the data as is, with no warranty of its accuracy stated or implied.'
