The highly anticipated sequelDeadpool 2is about to hit theaters, but keen fans are aware that this follow-up is just the beginning of big plans forRyan Reynolds’ foul-mouthed character. The firstDeadpoolwas in the works for years before 20th Century Fox finally greenlit a relatively low-budgeted R-rated adaptation of the Marvel Comics character. That film, as we all know, was a massive hit, and thus Fox put much more money behind the sequel, which also introduces fan favorite characters Cable (Josh Brolin) and Domino (Zazie Beets).
Based on the success ofDeadpool, asDeadpool2 was coming together Fox also started working seriously onanX-Forcemovie, which is based on the Marvel comics of the same name and finds Deadpool teaming up with other harder-edged Marvel characters to form a supergroup. Fans may have noticed the formation of an X-Force in theDeadpool 2trailers, but thisX-Forcemovie would find Wade Wilson working in much more of an ensemble capacity.
Last fall, Fox setThe Cabin in the Woodswriter/directorDrew Goddardto write and directX-Force, but since then updates on the film have been quiet. Currently Goddard is busy finishing up an original film calledBad Times at El Royale, also at Fox, so when Collider’s own Steve Weintraub recently spoke with Reynolds aboutDeadpool 2for an exclusive interview, he asked how things were going onX-Force.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Reynolds said he’s extremely excited to work with Goddard:
“I just wanna work with Drew. I mean, I love him and he has such an interesting take on where he wants to take that world. I see it being a real ensemble on a lot of levels just because I think it’s interesting for Deadpool to kinda function in the way he does in his own universe. You always get to sort of find some way to position him as the underdog or take everything away from him, but for him to function in an ensemble [inX-Force] is a lot of fun. I think there’s a real opportunity to not burden the narrative by shattering Wade’s life, so then at the beginning our movie you get to have him just be part of the team, which is obviously a very challenging prospect for someone like Wade Wilson. So, I’m really excited about that. I’m excited about a couple new characters that we’re talking about. And I’m really especially excited to work with Drew. He’s just amazing.”
Since Goddard is busy withEl Royale, there’s no production start date forX-Forcejust yet, and Reynolds reveals there’s not even a finished script at this point in time:
“There’s a storyline that everyone’s happy with, but there isn’t a script yet. That’s yet to come.”
SinceX-Forcemay be a couple years away, the impending Disney-Fox deal looms large, but Reynolds says—at least from his perspective—Disney’s potential acquisition of Fox hasn’t affected anything in terms of development and plans, and he’s optimistic that whatever happens, Fox will remain largely unchanged:
“It really is at the moment—and maybe it’s an illusion, and maybe I’m naïve—but it’s business as usual at Fox. I also like to think, and again I don’t know anything, I’m not an executive over there, but I like to think that the acquisition of Fox, by whether be it Comcast, Disney, or Myspace for fuck’s sakes, I like to think that whoever buys Fox is buying it to keep intact, and to allow it to be its own entity. I mean, it’s a valuable asset, it’s under a totally different set of rules and leadership. So, I don’t know, I would assume that it’s just gonna be business as usual, but fuck if I know.”
SinceDeadpoolis very much R-rated, the assumption has been thatX-Forcetoo would be an R-rated superhero team-up film. Reynolds says they haven’t pinned down the rating just yet since there’s no script, butX-Forcecould certainly be rated R:
“It’s all story first. I don’t think anybody’s thinking about the rating. I mean, my sort of wild guess would be that it would be an R-rated movie, but again, right now we’re just assembling the troops to figure out what story we would tell. And it’s a ways away from shooting still, and I don’t even have an idea as to the exact date. But yeah, we’ll see. Story first though.”
So it definitely sounds likeX-Forceis still a couple years away, but Reynolds seems enthused to be working with Goddard and we should hopefully start hearing more updates on the film after Goddard’sBad Times at El Royalehits theaters this October, at which point he’ll likely move right into nailing down theX-Forcescript.
