Ryan Reynolds quietly shared an image on social media that appears to be teasing a return to Deadpool. Of course, Marvel fans will know Reynolds for playing Wade Wilson in the first two Deadpool movies, both of which were smash hits at the box office. Though Deadpool 3 is officially in development at Marvel Studios with Reynolds on board to return as the wisecracking vigilante, it's been reported that filming likely wouldn't begin until late 2022 at the earliest.

Over the weekend, Reynolds' followers noticed him posting an interesting image to his Instagram Stories. The photo, which includes no caption or any other information, reveals a backpack with the familiar red-and-black Deadpool mask sticking out of the top. This seems to suggest Reynolds is preparing to use the mask for something, perhaps for an appearance in a Marvel project. It's also possible Ryan Reynolds is just using the photo to get people talking, which they certainly are.

On another bag next to the backpack in the image is a white paper with some writing on the front. It's difficult to make out what's written on the paper, and it's hard to say if that has anything to do with the Deadpool mask. Reynolds did post a series of additional photos on his Instagram Stories, but they were mostly promotional images for The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, providing no further clues on the potential Deadpool tease.

It doesn't seem likely that Deadpool 3 will in fact start shooting soon, and if that's the case, Reynolds could be gearing up for another Marvel project. After Kevin Feige confirmed that Deadpool is now a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he could potentially show up in any of the upcoming Marvel movies and Disney+ shows that are currently in development. This could also be for some kind of ad or promotional spot.

Of course, it's important to keep in mind that Reynolds could just be throwing another log on the fire to build anticipation for the eventual release of Deadpool 3. The actor certainly knows that the sequel is one of the more anticipated releases of Marvel's future, given the exorbitant amounts of money the previous movies made in theaters. Though Deadpool is now under the Disney umbrella, Kevin Feige has fortunately confirmed that the merc with a mouth will be able to keep his R rating.

"It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan's overseeing a script right now," Feige told Collider in January, adding that production was still a while off. "It will not be [filming] this year. Ryan is a very busy, very successful actor. We've got a number of things we've already announced that we now have to make, but it's exciting for it to have begun. Again, a very different type of character in the MCU, and Ryan is a force of nature, which is just awesome to see him bring that character to life."

No release date has been set for Deadpool 3, but if filming isn't happening until late 2022, we won't be seeing the sequel until 2023 at the earliest. The possible tease of Deadpool's return in the MCU was posted by Ryan Reynolds on Instagram.