‘Spiderhead’: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick Talk Dark, Twisty Dystopian Sci-Fi & Writing ‘Deadpool 3’ [The Discourse Podcast]

In this episode of The Discourse Podcast, we talk to screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Known for being the writers behind the “Zombieland” and “Deadpool” franchises, Reese and Wernick’s latest movie is “Spiderhead,” an adaptation of a George Saunders dystopian sci-fi short story directed by Joseph Kosinski for Netflix.

The film, which stars Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett, is set in a near future, where convicts are offered the chance to volunteer as medical subjects in exchange for shortening their sentence. Hemsworth plays the charming Elon Musk-like super-genius with dubious intentions, and Teller and Smollett play inmates trying to atone for their past sins.

Interestingly enough, it took ten years to make. Reese and Wernick wrote it on spec back in the day and were actually attached to direct it, but then, “’Deadpool’ took over our lives,” Reese said. “Very thankfully, Joe Koskinski came in and did a way better job than we ever would have. But the bottom line is we had a passion for it, we were willing to risk the man-hours to do it, with the knowledge that it might not have sold, but thankfully our faith proved justified.”

“Spiderhead” is dystopian sci-fi, so yes, dark, with moral and ethical considerations about technology, humanity, and the exploitation of both while touching upon contemporary ideas like the prison industrial complex, big Pharma, and more. “It had everything,” Wernick said about the draw of the short story. “The dialogue, the tone, the themes, [it was about] pharmaceuticals, it was a mix of everything.”

While topical, the nuts and bolts of the script were written a decade ago, and the screenwriters weren’t trying to make a commentary on the present time and how we are hooked, addicted, and totally codependent on our technology today. “The best [stories] transcend times or they always feel timely, essentially—they always feel like they’re ripped from the headlines, even when they aren’t,” Wernick said about the evergreen qualities in the story that make it seem like it’s commenting on society’s problems today. “That theme of technology, both its promise and its danger, that runs through society at every moment… and just the idea that we’re all escaping from something, we’re all using some substance, whether it’s legal or illegal or some activity to escape our problems. That’s universal and transcends any given moment.”

But the film also has a wickedly twisted sense of humor, the perfect assignment for writers known for their satirical black comedy. “First and foremost, it was funny, dark, twisted, heartfelt, and dramatic—the cocktail that we like to drink regularly when writing,” Wernick said.

We dove into all things “Spiderhead,” the making of the movie, and how Hemsworth dazzles as the complicated “hero of his own story” antagonist, but we also talked about “Deadpool 3,” a film they are writing now, once again consulting closely with Ryan Reynolds in “the lab.” In short, it’s staying R-Rated, and the duo vowed that the story won’t change in tone just because it’s under a Disney/Marvel banner now. “We’re gonna let Deadpool be Deadpool,” Reese explained. “This is not going to be the Disney-fied ‘Deadpool. [But Marvel], they’re awesome… and very supportive, so now it’s up to us to come through and justify that faith.”

“Spiderhead” comes out June 17 on Netflix. Take a listen to the entire conversation below.

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