Thanks to the success of Deadpool, the well-funded X-Men cinematic universe has an unlikely savior.
Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick said in a recent interview with Collider, that they feel a slight obligation to build a larger cinematic universe with their sequel, starting with X-Force.
“There is a responsibility we have to the X-Force universe, and I do think we will not disappoint the fans going into Deadpool 2 and then setting up X-Force and beyond. Its purpose is not to set up X-Force. It will likely set up X-Force, but the drive of the movie won’t be our eyes on Movie 3.”
That said, turning Deadpool 2 into a sequel worthy of the original is still their top priority.
“We never want to let the tail wag the dog. We want to tell the best Deadpool story we can. But I do think we have a responsibility to think about a larger universe in the way that Marvel does and start to put pieces in place. Some of these movies feel overstuffed and almost choking with the need to set up eighteen different things that pay off down the road, and we want to avoid that responsibility to the extent that it hurts us. We want to hint at things, we want to plan some characters, and we want to make some nods, but we’re very, very cognizant about making sure that Deadpool is above all a Deadpool movie.”
X-Force
X-Force is the name of a mutant team imagined by Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld. Whereas the X-Men tend to stick within the law when dealing with threats, the X-Force are a more aggressive, paramilitary team of mutants who handle missions too dark for the X-Men. Its members included Cable and Domino, who are set to appear in Deadpool 2, as well as Wolverine and X-23, who will both be appearing in Logan.
Along with Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, Reese and Wernick have been vocal about maintaining the independent direction of their series without interference from studio executives. With Deadpool 2 being one of the most anticipated superhero movies of 2018 (March 2, mark your calendars), it will be interesting to see how the creative team can maintain this collective vision.
