- Justin Baldoni has an ongoing legal battle against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
- He filed his first lawsuit in January 2025
- Marvel has called to be removed from the lawsuit – but why?
Marvel does not want to be included in the Justin Baldoni lawsuit. First, they have asked to be removed from the legal proceedings. Baldoni, 41, filed a lawsuit in January 2025 against Blake Lively, 37, and Ryan Reynolds, 48, accusing them of defamation, invasion of privacy, and civil extortion.
Finally, he filed this lawsuit in response to Lively’s December 2024 suit, which accused him of sexual harassment, orchestrating a smear campaign, and several other serious allegations.
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Since then, the It Ends With Us co-stars have gone back and forth with the court, but Marvel has asked to be removed from the narrative. See why here.
Why did they ask to be removed from the Justin Baldoni lawsuit?
A report said that Marvel Entertainment sent a letter to the judge in the case on 25 April asking to be removed from the case. According to People, the reason for the removal was because of the Nicepool character, which is present in Deadpool & Wolverine.
For context, Reynolds plays this role as a supporting character. Nicepool is friendly and has no mask, and is not superhero material. In the credits, Gordon Reynolds, a fictional brother created by the 48-year-old, is credited with playing Nicepool.
Based on this character, the studio requested that the judge “quash the subpoena issued to Marvel” from Baldoni and his company Wayfarer Studios, and “issue a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel’s confidential documents by any party or other nonparty in this action.”
The company is also asking the court to delay the deadline for responding to the subpoena document requests. They want the postponement to last until the court decides on Renyolds’ motion request to dismiss the claims against him.
Why is Marvel involved?
Marvel’s involvement comes from the claims where Baldoni requests in his lawsuit that Disney display “any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” and ” communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool.'”
As a result of the character, Baldoni and his lawyers are seeking these documents to see if there is evidence of Renyolds using the character to mock and imitate him.
In summary, his team believes that the character of Nicepool and his mannerisms are based on who they perceive Baldoni to be.
Quickly, Baldoni’s team responded with a request not to allow the motion. The motion is “to quash the Wayfarer Parties’ Subpoena and for a protective order,” according to Baldoni’s lawyers.
However, the judge has not made any decisions regarding the Nicepool drama yet.
Furthermore, Baldoni’s team claimed that the studio did not work with them to resolve the document issue. His lawyers say the studio refused to discuss their objections to the subpoena in a call on 7 April.
Although Wayfarer allegedly promised confidentiality, Marvel reportedly dismissed the need for a subpoena. Instead, the company simply asked Baldoni’s lawyers which documents they needed about Reynolds’ Nicepool character.
Meanwhile, the trial will be in March 2026.
