Marvel Won't Have to Turn Over ‘Highly Confidential' Documents About Development of Ryan Reynolds' Nicepool After Judge Tosses Justin Baldoni's Defamation Case

The introduction of the character Nicepool in Marvel's 2024 hit 'Deadpool & Wolverine' might mark the most scrutinized four minutes of screen time in recent memory.
On Monday, Judge Lewis Liman threw out Justin Baldoni's defamation case against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. That means Marvel won't have to turn over what it calls 'proprietary and highly confidential' documents and communications about the development of Reynolds' Nicepool character. While Judge Liman threw out Baldoni's defamation case, he is allowing the director to file an amended complaint by June 23 regarding interference with contracts. But the Nicepool subpoena was tied to the defamation claims, which are now dead.
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The move follows months of back and forth on the matter between attorneys for Baldoni and the studio, which was trying to quash the director's efforts to obtain the material in his ongoing legal battle with Lively.
On Jan. 7, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman sent a litigation hold letter to Marvel president Kevin Feige and Disney CEO Bob Iger, instructing the studio to preserve all relevant documents and data with regards to Baldoni. That letter came one week before the 'It Ends With Us' director filed a civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds for $400 million, claiming that the married power couple sought to 'destroy' him with false harassment claims and an alleged smear campaign. Marvel was subpoenaed on Feb. 14.
Disney declined comment.
Baldoni's attorneys have argued that Reynolds was intentionally mocking and bullying Baldoni in a four-minute scene in Marvel's 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' which was released by Disney in July. On screen, Reynolds played 'Nicepool,' a misogynistic alternate version of the titular protagonist Deadpool, and served up such lines as 'Where in God's name is the intimacy coordinator?!' while complimenting Ladypool for 'snapping back' into shape after giving birth. Those lines echo elements of Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni and two of his publicists, in which she claims she was the victim of sexual harassment on the set of 'It Ends With Us' and a subsequent smear campaign for speaking up about alleged mistreatment.
Lively, who appears in the same scene as Ladypool, accused Baldoni of sexually harassing and fat-shaming her postpartum body on the set of 'It Ends With Us.' When Deadpool points out Nicepool's sexism in the scene, the latter replies, 'It's OK, I identify as a feminist.' (During the development, production and marketing of 'It Ends With Us,' a drama about domestic violence, Baldoni often touted his credentials as a feminist and ally to women.)
On April 2, the studio's attorney Adam Levin at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp wrote to Freedman, asking him to withdraw the subpoena because disclosure of the documents 'is likely to substantially harm Marvel' and 'irrelevant to the claims asserted in this case.' Levin added, 'The requested documents are particularly sensitive because they relate to the development of a character in an ongoing movie franchise. 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.' The Marvel attorney asked Freedman to agree to defer the return date of the subpoena 'until after the Court decides Reynolds' pending motion to dismiss.'
On April 25, Marvel attorney Jacob Albertson wrote to Judge Liman to request that the court quash the Baldoni subpoena. Albertson made similar arguments as Levin previously made and added that producing any documents and communications concerning Baldoni would prove to be 'unduly burdensome.' He added, 'The Wayfarer Parties certainly have other, less burdensome means through which they can obtain relevant information (if any exists) from the parties in the action, such as a request for admission or a party deposition.'
Three days later, Baldoni's lawyers Mitchell Schuster and Kevin Fritz of Meister Seelig & Fein shot back with a letter to Judge Liman. 'Marvel does not explain how the Subpoena is unduly burdensome, especially given the Wayfarer Parties' agreement to narrow the scope thereof, and Marvel does not claim it will incur significant expense to locate and produce the documents,' the letter stated. (Freedman's initial litigation hold letter was far more broad and asked the studio to preserve communications concerning Tim Miller, who directed the first 'Deadpool' movie but did not return for the sequel or 'Deadpool & Wolverine.' Miller and Reynolds are known to have clashed.)
'The suggestion by Marvel that the Wayfarer Parties should obtain documents and information concerning 'Nicepool' from the parties hereto (including from Ryan Reynolds himself) is insincere because Marvel also seeks a protective order 'prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel's confidential documents by any party or other nonparty in this action,'' Schuster and Fritz added.
The attorneys argued that the subpoena only seeks documents concerning one character — 'Nicepool' — who appears in one already released movie. They note that Nicepool does not appear in any other entry in Marvel's film franchise and will not appear in any future outings given that he was killed off in 'Deadpool & Wolverine.'
The letter also took issue with Marvel's move to stall pending a determination of Reynolds' motion to dismiss. 'Reynolds himself has neither sought nor obtained a stay of discovery in connection with his dismissal motion,' the letter stated. 'Additionally … there are not substantial grounds for dismissal of the claims against him. And in the unlikely event claims against Reynolds are dismissed with prejudice, the information sought in the Subpoenas remains relevant as to the suit against Lively, as the Wayfarer Parties contend Reynolds was acting as an agent of Lively.'
Baldoni's battle with Marvel is merely a subplot in a much larger war between the director and his 'It Ends With Us' star. There are currently multiple lawsuits that involve 'It Ends With Us' parties, the most recent one being filed by Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios against his former publicist Stephanie Jones, who he alleges 'maliciously' leaked text messages that sparked the entire saga. At the center of the sprawling back and forth, Baldoni is suing and being sued by Lively over what happened on the set of and in the run-up to the release of the 2024 domestic violence drama.
Lively's lawyers celebrated Judge Liman's decision on Monday. 'As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the court saw right through it,' Lively's lawyers said on June 9 after the dismissal. 'We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni […] and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.' Baldoni's attorneys vowed to keep fighting, noting 'Ms. Lively and her team's predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling.' Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman added in a statement to Variety: 'While the court dismissed the defamation related claims, the court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively's own team conveniently describes as 'untraceable' because they cannot prove what never happened.'
There has been much discussion about why the development of Nicepool was relevant in a legal drama that stems from a different movie ('It Ends With Us') that was produced and distributed by a different studio (Sony). But Baldoni's lawyers say the breadcrumbs were left in plain sight. In the end credits of 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' the actor who plays Nicepool is listed as 'Gordon Reynolds' and not Ryan Reynolds. Lively subsequently thanked Gordon Reynolds in the end credits of 'It Ends With Us,' drawing a throughline to Nicepool. Lively herself has used similar language that mirrors lines in 'Deadpool & Wolverine.' In a July 22 Instagram post that tagged @deadpoolmovie and @itendswithusmovie, Lively wrote 'about Nice men who use feminism as a tool.'
For its part, Marvel previously noted the intense media scrutiny in the case as grounds to quash the subpoena. That interest began long before the parties began suing one another, with seemingly innocuous observations from fans about members of the cast of 'It Ends With Us' unfollowing Baldoni on social media last summer ahead of the film's release. And it continues with recent reports that Travis Kelce has unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram. Kelce's girlfriend, Taylor Swift, appears to be keeping her distance from the drama even though her name has surfaced repeatedly in coverage of the case given her friendship with Lively during the production of 'It Ends With Us.'
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