The writers of “Deadpool,” Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, might be a little bummed that their irreverent anti-superhero film was completely shut out of the Oscar nominations last week, but they remain unbowed (and hey, there’s still the WGA awards to come). They have plenty to be happy about with at least two more “Deadpool” movies on the way, plus an entire franchise that could yield “X-Force” and much more.
But most tantalizing for fans is the loose talk of a “Deadpool”/”Wolverine” crossover movie. Hugh Jackman has previously sworn up and down that he’s done with the character after the upcoming “Logan,” but hope recently came in the form of “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds pitching for a team-up. “I have no idea if I can change his mind,” he said. “It’s the audience: I would exclusively exploit that relationship to get Hugh back for another one.”
Jackman’s response to such a tempting idea? The actor said a collaboration “would be a perfect fit,” and that he’s now hesitant to drop the character entirely, but timing could be an issue. But how do the “Deadpool” writers feel about the idea? For them, it’s a dream scenario.
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“We’ve come a long way from 2009, when we couldn’t get the movie off the ground ’til now,” said Wernick. “And to have [this team-up]? It would be amazing to have Hugh resurrect Wolverine in the Deadpool universe, and again, Ryan’s making a hard push to make that happen, and hopefully the public gets behind it and we can all convince Hugh to put the claws on one more time.”
With the current game plan including “Deadpool 2,” then “Deadpool 3” possibly followed by “X-Force,” if Jackman comes back to join the merc with the mouth, would that change everything?
“Yeah, it would, if you think about it,” Reese explained. “If you’re looking at ‘Deadpool 2,’ if you’re looking at ‘X-Force,’ if you’re looking at ‘Deadpool 3,’ there’s not necessarily room for [another] team-up movie. I think it does create real scheduling and universe issues and something that could be ironed out, but it would need to be ironed out. I don’t think any of us operated under the assumption that it would be even possible to do a Deadpool/Wolverine thing, so we just haven’t planned for it, it’s still not in the plan, but if it were to happen, it would require a hard look at the overall architecture of our storylines.”
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Much of the Wolverine talk came when a rumor surfaced that Deadpool would be making an appearance in the upcoming “Logan” movie, but the writers insist the gossip was just that.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Reese said. “The tones are just too different. I’m not sure exactly where that rumor came from, but Hugh and Ryan are really close and they really do want to work together and they really do want to see these characters come together, so in the long run, that rumor could become true — that they’re in a movie together, but it’s just not ‘Logan.’ And no, not even an end-credit scene.”
But if the tones are too disparate, how does a Wolverine/Deadpool movie work? Pressed on the matter, Reese said, “Well, when I say the tone doesn’t work, I think the tone will absolutely work if we put those two together. Deadpool always needs a straight man, a foil, and Wolverine would be as good a foil as Colossus, just more cantankerous. I just know the ‘Logan’ movie as they conceived it could never have Deadpool in it and work. It just couldn’t; it’s way too serious and way too dark. It’s just not right tonally. It’s really, really different.”
The “Deadpool” sequel has no release date, but is expected to land sometime in 2018. “Logan” opens in theaters on March 3rd. In the meantime, tease yourself with this fan-made, “Lethal Weapon”-esque “Wolverine And Deadpool” trailer.
