‘X-Force’: Jeff Wadlow Says His Script Was Like ‘Red Dawn’ Meets ‘The Fugitive’ & Deadpool As A Villain

During 20th Century Fox’s run and control of specific Marvel properties, many “X-Men” projects never got made. Some of those included Channing Tatum’s “Gambit,” a James Franco-led “Multiple Man” project, a solo “X-23” pic from “Logan” director James Mangold, an R-rated “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” written by “Game of Thrones” co-showrunner David Benioff, and even two different takes on “X-Force” from director Jeff Wadlow (“Kick-Ass 2”).

In a new interview with A Trip To The Movies With Alex Zane (see below), Wadlow revealed that he wrote an “X-Force” script that pre-dated the first “Deadpool” movie and divulged much of the details.

Comparing it to “Red Dawn” and “The Fugitive,” Wadlow said star Ryan Reynolds had a chance to read it and “loved it.” Taking a page from “X-Men Origins,” his film would have continued with the idea of Wade Wilson as a villain, becoming a bounty hunter hired by an anti-mutant group to track down a mentor version of Cable along with a young crop of mutants, mostly made up from the New Mutants. The plot also included the threat of being put in a mutant internment camp.

READ MORE: ‘Deadpool 3’: Shawn Levy Says There’s A “F*ckload” More Heart, Franchise “Evolves” & Confirms Secret Cameos

“I put them on this sort of road movie I modeled the movie a little bit after ‘Red Dawn’ the movie from the ’80s with Patrick Swayze,” he explained. “They were doing these mutant internment camps, which was an analog to the Japanese internment camps that happened during WWII. But they’re on the run in West Texas, and that was the vibe of the film. But I wanted this antagonist chasing them the whole time and what most people know Deadpool was introduced as a villain in the original ‘X-Force’ run. I had our main villain hired, a mercenary, to hunt this ragtag group of mutants down, and the mercenary hired was Deadpool. And I said he’s in these motorcycle leathers with a red ballistic facemask, and I made it clear he’d look just like does in the comics…and he was the ‘Merc With A Mouth.’”

“I wanted Ryan to play the part, and I think the studio after ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine,’ there was a lot of uncertainty about where the X properties were going,” he continued. “But through my agency, I got in touch with Ryan, and I got him the script, and he read it, and he loved it. He said, ‘It’s like this grand cameo for Deadpool’ he’s in a lot of the movie, but it’s definitely a supporting part. He’s almost like Tommy Lee Jones in ‘The Fugitive’ chasing these characters…ultimately they turn him in the end.”

Of course, there is a bit of a role reversal that ended up happening in “Deadpool 2” where Josh Brolin’s Cable transports himself back in time to kill Rusty Collins (Julian Dennison) in the hopes he can prevent the deaths of his wife and daughter. “X-Force” could still be on the table in the future. However, the chances of Wadlow’s script ever being used seem extremely unlikely at this point.

Meanwhile, Marvel Studios will release “Deadpool & Wolverine” on July 26, making this their first full-on mutant-focused film and major R-rated release. There is hope that the Multiverse pic will help reenergize the MCU after some of Marvel’s stumbles in 2023.