Marvel has responded to legal queries around whether the Deadpool & Wolverine character Nicepool — yup, man-bun and all — was intended to “ridicule” or “bully” Justin Baldoni, drawing a line in the sand about handing over information about this “ongoing movie franchise”.
Back in January, Baldoni’s legal team dragged Disney and Marvel into the ongoing drama (aka that USD $400 million lawsuit) against Blake Lively, demanding they hang onto every scrap of info about the Nicepool character who is played by none other than Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds.
At the time, Disney was asked to retain “all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool’”. Yikes.
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman even went on Megyn Kelly‘s show to share his theory on the Baldoni-Nicepool connection. “There’s no question it relates to Justin. I mean, anybody that watched that hair bun,” he said.
In a letter sent to federal Judge Lewis J. Liman on Friday, Disney’s counsel now suggested there just may be more Deadpool down the line, meaning they don’t want to disclose any proprietary information about the franchise in all the It Ends With Us legal saga (which, let’s be honest, has been playing out pretty publicly).
“The requested documents are particularly sensitive because they relate to the development of a character in an ongoing movie franchise,” they stated, per Deadline.
“Marvel has built the success of the MCU in large part by interconnecting storylines, plots, and characters across its titles, including ‘crossover’ events and sequels. Whether and how such elements will appear in upcoming, unreleased projects is the subject of much public interest, and this information is closely guarded by Marvel.”
They added the discovery being sought is “broad”, pointing out that it includes sensitive information about future projects, and Reynolds has strong legal reasons for getting the case dismissed. Basically, it could make sense to wait.
“At the same time, the [Baldoni’s production house] Wayfarer Parties would not be prejudiced by a stay,” the letter added.
Marvel requested the court quash the subpoena issued by Wayfarer Parties and issue a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel’s confidential documents by any party or other nonparty in all this legal action.
“Alternatively, Marvel requests that the Court stay the return date of the Subpoena and related document requests until after the Court decides the pending motion to dismiss of Counterclaim Defendant Ryan Reynolds,” the request added, as seen in court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Days later, in a legal letter sent to Judge Liman on Monday, Baldoni’s legal team claimed Reynolds himself has “neither sought nor obtained a stay of discovery in connection with his dismissal motion” and that there are no substantial grounds for dismissal of the claims against him.
They added that even if the claims against Reynolds are dismissed permanently, the information requested in the subpoenas is still important for the ongoing case as they believe Reynolds may have been “acting as an agent” of Lively.
They also alleged an April 7 phone call with Marvel’s legal team to discuss the objections went nowhere, as reported by PEOPLE.
To make things clearer, Baldoni’s legal team further stated Nicepool is a “defamatory and mocking portrayal” of Baldoni and claimed that Reynolds acted with “malice”.
In their letter, they said: “The Wayfarer Parties have proposed, in good faith and to avoid any undue burden upon Marvel, to narrow the Subpoena to documents concerning Reynolds’ participation in the development of Nicepool and communications concerning Baldoni.
“Marvel will not be prejudiced if the Court declines to stay compliance with the Subpoena because the film has already been released, and any non-public documents can be marked ‘confidential’ pursuant to the Protective Order.”
TLDR; it’s all getting even messier, if that was somehow possible.
The internet has already had a field day unpacking any possible jabs at Baldoni in Nicepool’s lines, apart from rocking the man bun, which Baldoni was known for until 2023.
One possible diss, according to an online theory, could be Nicepool complimenting Ladypool (played by Lively) on her post-baby appearance when he says “She just had a baby too, and you can’t even tell”. This could mirror Lively’s allegations that Baldoni made inappropriate comments about her post-partum body during the filming of It Ends With Us.
Another moment could be Nicepool’s declarations that he “identifies as a feminist” when he’s called out for misogynistic comments, which could be a dig at Baldoni, who publicly considers himself a feminist.
Like you, I’m grabbing some popcorn to sit back and watch where this all lands.
Just last week, it was reported Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman were going to be roped into the It Ends With Us legal drama in the form of potential subpoenas.
T-Swizzle — who the source said is aware a subpoena “could happen at any time” — was roped into the case by Baldoni, who claimed Lively had weaponised her friendship with the pop star to assert creative control over It Ends With Us.
As for Jackman’s involvement, it brings us right back to Marvel and Deadpool & Wolverine, and whether he was aware Nicepool might’ve been a pretty targeted caricature of Baldoni.
Lively and Baldoni’s legal battle in court has a trial date set for March 2026, but seeing how it’s going, there might just be plenty of updates before then. You bet we’ll keep you posted.
Lead image: Getty / Marvel
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