Disney and Marvel pleads to exit from Baldoni–Lively lawsuit involvement

• Marvel warns that disclosing these confidential documents could prejudice the company.
• Baldoni’s attorneys argue that Reynolds’ dismissal of the case doesn’t affect the ongoing discovery.
• The trial will begin on March 9, 2026, with no decision on the Nicepool-related documents yet.

Disney and Marvel are pushing back against legal efforts to involve them in a high-profile dispute between actor-director Justin Baldoni and actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. In letters sent to federal Judge Lewis J. Liman, Marvel’s lawyers urged the court to pause any discovery requests related to the development of Deadpool’s new character, ‘Nicepool.’

Disney’s legal team from Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp stated that the subpoena targets sensitive and confidential materials connected to ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) storylines.

“The requested documents are particularly sensitive because they relate to the development of a character in an ongoing movie franchise,” In an April 25 letter, Marvel emphasized the importance of secrecy in its future MCU projects. The company warned that disclosing these confidential documents would cause prejudice to Marvel.

The legal battle centers on the R-rated “Deadpool & Wolverine” film, where lawyers for Justin Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studios, executives, and PR team claim that a character named ‘Nicepool’ mocks Baldoni. They argue that Marvel created the character with “malice” and that it serves as a defamatory and mocking portrayal of him.

Baldoni’s attorneys at Meister Seelig & Fein and Liner Freedman Taitelman + Cooley wrote a letter to the court on April 28, “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’ under the Protective Order.”

They also argue that Ryan Reynolds’ attempt to dismiss the case doesn’t affect the ongoing discovery. They state, “Reynolds himself has neither sought nor obtained a stay of discovery in connection with his dismissal motion.”

The legal conflict began when Blake Lively filed allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation against Baldoni and his company, stemming from their work on “It Ends with Us”. Baldoni claims that Reynolds supported his wife throughout the legal fallout and actively took part in damaging his reputation publicly.

Baldoni’s team argues that Reynolds acted as an “agent” for Lively and now faces a $400 million defamation and extortion suit. They state that even if the court dismisses the claims against Reynolds, the information requested in the subpoenas still holds relevance to the case against Lively.

The trial will begin on March 9, 2026. Judge Liman previously described the case as a feud between PR firms. With motions and subpoena disputes still ongoing—including those involving Marvel’s internal communications—the court has not yet issued a decision on the Nicepool-related documents. However, it is expected to rule on the matter before the next “Deadpool” film premieres in theaters.

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