As is usually the case, the internet has been throwing Marvel fans into a pool of confusion…a Deadpool, naturally. In the last few days, it has been hard to ignore the posts by every Marvel fan account on X sharing the image Ryan Reynolds cheekily added to his Instagram, of a spray-painted “A” over the official Avengers logo. While the usual “scoopers” have claimed, with many other half-truths, that Reynolds will be bringing his loudmouthed character back sooner than expected in next year’s MCU ensemble movie, Avengers: Doomsday, it was THR reporting their “sources” as confirming his appearance that made everyone believe it. The problem, though, is that The Hollywood Reporter’s sister site, Deadline, has revealed their source says otherwise.
One thing to remember is that until Marvel Studios make something official, or there is actual footage available, the boring fact remains that everything is rumor, whichever “source” it comes from – unless, of course, Kevin Feige is going undercover and feeding duff information just for fun. So where does that leave Deadpool’s possible Doomsday role? Exactly where it was before anyone published a single word on the matter really.
So in just a few hours on Friday, the usual X accounts had shared their exclusives – which will mystically vanish if they turn out to be incorrect like they are using the Space Stone – THR had boldly shared their Heat Vision newsletter declaring that “Deadpool will appear in Avengers: Doomsday,” but would not be part of any Avengers team, and this was quickly counted by Deadline’s shocking contradiction that Reynolds has not been seen on any shoots for the movie.
When Is “Confirmed” Actually Confirmed?
The internet is driven by the simple need to drive traffic through channels filled with advertising that generates money and people get paid. However, that leads to the need for a little exaggeration, the occasional inciting soundbite, and the use of monstrous keywords like “confirmed” and “official.”
In the end, everyone has been living in a world of social media, clickbait, and frequent bouts of misinformation, both inadvertent and intentional. We should all know by now that until something is released by an official social media page, press release, or a big smiling face speaking the words directly to a camera on a red carpet, everything is rumor, no matter whose “source” has come up with the goods in the digital equivalent of a brown paper bag delivered under a flickering streetlight.
Anyone who doesn’t feel there is enough doubt already swimming in this particularly murky water, add in the ever-present threat of fake AI-generated “set-images” and it really is a wonder that anyone other than millions of Google bots is reading anything…including this article.
Of course, there is one easy way to enjoy movies, and that is to do what people did in the good old days when trailers did not come in threes. Go and see a movie without having spent months looking for every bit of information about it beforehand. Failing that, it is very easy to simply cut out the churning noise of “we’re hearing” and “our source confirmed” and watch for the facts coming at the time they are meant to from the original sources – the people actually making the movies. If Deadpool appears in Avengers: Doomsday, then great. If he doesn’t, it isn’t because someone lied, it’s simply because telling the difference between speculation and confirmation is something some people are finding it increasingly difficult to do.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
