Justin Baldoni took legal action involving Marvel and Disney over a character in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ that he believes is mocking him.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, sent a letter to Marvel president Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger on January 7. The letter asks them to keep all documents related to the creation and development of the character ‘Nicepool,’ an alternate version of Deadpool played by Ryan Reynolds in the movie.
Baldoni’s lawyer stated that he plans to file a lawsuit against Reynolds and Lively. During an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show on January 7, Freedman called out Reynolds for using the harassment allegations as comedic material, saying, “If somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue.”
In addition to documents about Nicepool, Baldoni’s legal team asked Disney and Marvel to save any complaints made against Ryan Reynolds, including ones involving ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ director Tim Miller. Reports suggest there was tension between Miller and Reynolds, as Miller directed the first ‘Deadpool’ movie but did not return for the sequel or ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’
Baldoni is in the middle of a legal battle with Blake Lively, who has accused him of sexual harassment and making negative comments about her post-pregnancy body during the production of ‘It Ends With Us.’ That movie was released by Sony and not Disney, but Baldoni claims that Reynolds used ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ to make fun of him through the Nicepool character.
The character’s lines, including ‘She just had a baby too, and you can’t even tell,’ seem similar to the accusations made by Lively. Another line, where Nicepool says, ‘I identify as a feminist,’ has also been linked to Baldoni as he often promoted himself as a supporter of women’s rights during the marketing of ‘It Ends With Us.’
Blake Lively appeared in the movie as ‘Ladypool.’ She tagged the ‘Deadpool’ and ‘It Ends With Us’ Instagram accounts in a post last year, writing about “Nice men who use feminism as a tool.” This has added more speculation about the connection between the Nicepool character and Baldoni.
The end credits of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ list the actor playing Nicepool as ‘Gordon Reynolds.’ Some believe this is a further reference to the controversy.
The dispute comes after Baldoni and a group of others filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on December 31, 2024. Baldoni claims the newspaper published misleading information about Lively’s allegations by relying on incomplete and edited messages. Lively responded by filing her own lawsuit against Baldoni and others in federal court and repeated her claims of harassment.
WME dropped Baldoni after Lively’s accusations became public. Meanwhile, Baldoni is also facing a separate lawsuit from his former publicist, Stephanie Jones, who claims he breached their contract and conspired with others to harm her reputation.
Variety reports that Marvel and Disney declined to comment on the situation, and Reynolds and Lively also remained silent.
