‘Deadpool 2’ Writers On The Sequel’s Impact On The ‘X-Men’ Universe

Deadpool Colossus

As screenwriters Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick wait to see if their work on Deadpool will earn them a Writers Guild award, the writing duo are crafting the script for the upcoming sequel. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reese and Wernick discussed their goals for the sequel and how the film might impact the X-Men cinematic universe.

Fans are all too aware of the confusing X-Men film timeline, which Wernick explained will continue to be mocked and ignored in the sequel.

“What’s nice is Deadpool exists in his own universe. He’s part of the larger X-Men universe, but in a way he isn’t. He interacts with that world but he is in the present. We don’t deal with the ’60s or the ’70s or the future. It’s here and now. More than anything, I think he’s going to have his fun with what they do in the other franchise. But fortunately, we don’t have to play by those same rules. Deadpool is a movie that did break all the rules. And I think we’re going to continue to break those rules. That involves knowing that he’s in a movie, talking to the audience, breaking that fourth wall, a characteristic that they established so brilliantly in the comics way back when. So yeah, I do think that timelines are something that we can make fun of and don’t have to be slave to.”

Reese compared the direction of Deadpool 2 and Logan, which appear to be distancing themselves from previous X-Men films, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe model of interconnected movies.

“I think sometimes the movies get a little overstuffed trying to set up future movies and it almost feels burdensome or obligatory, where you are weaving in four or five different plots that really aren’t in service of the current movie, but are to set up  audience anticipation or logic for what’s coming. We really are trying our best to avoid that. There is something to the movie that is just worried about itself for the moment.

The different universes tend to have different tones, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a very specific, genius tone that was set in Iron Man and has lived well beyond that into the other movies. DC tends to have its own tone, which is this dark, gritty tone. The X-Men have their own tone, which is kind of somewhere in between. Not too funny, not too light. But not quite as dark as the DC stuff. And I think what we stumbled into was a new tone, and I haven’t seen Logan, so it’s tough to say if they have it, but I think we hope to have our own universe that is defined less by characters and timelines and things like that and more by tone. The hope is Deadpool 2 and X-Force and future movies all be this new, consistent, sillier tone. More self-aware tone. And edgier and rated-R tone. We want to be establishing the universe but also focusing on each individual movie and not worrying too much about building a larger threat to the world or a larger plot machination.”

Wernick discussed how the small budget and limited resources for Deadpool allowed the film the develop as an “anti-establishment” feature.

Deadpool, by nature, the character and in turn the movie, is really anti-establishment. Had it felt like a studio movie, had the studio not been receptive or willing to let us make fun of it, “How come I don’t see any more of the X-Men around the mansion?” Had they cut those jokes and felt like, “No we don’t want to make fun of ourselves, we don’t want to make fun of X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” or “we don’t want to make fun of the timelines,” it would have made the movie less anti-establishment. I think the studio embraced it, much like Ryan embraced making fun of himself. I think audiences appreciate that, because those are the same conversations audiences are having in their own homes.

When asked if Deadpool 2 would continue to humorously address the topics being discussed by superhero fans, Reese was slim on the details but assured fans there will plenty of tropes and conventions to mock in the sequel.

“This is the one that’s going to become a headline if we answer. We definitely have some new things we are making fun of this time out, but I guess I’m going to have to say, ‘We’re taking it one day at a time.’”

Considering much of the success of Deadpool could be attributed to the film comedic take down of the superhero film genre, it may be a relief to several fans that the sequel will continue exist in it’s own space and poke fun at it’s contemporaries.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Sebastian Peris

Sebastian Peris

Canadian film buff, political junkie, comic book geek, and board game enthusiast.