‘X-Force’ Movie: Director Drew Goddard Teases Franchise Plans Following That Shocking ‘Deadpool 2’ Twist
Zack Sharf
[Editor’s Note: This article includes spoilers for “Deadpool 2”]
20th Century Fox marketed “Deadpool 2” as an unofficial X-Force movie. Trailers for the superhero tentpole saw Ryan Reynolds‘ Wade Wilson/Deadpool recruiting candidates such as Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Bedlam (Terry Crews), and Domino (Zazie Beats) for the eponymous supergroup. But as soon as the X-Force is assembled in “Deadpool 2,” every member is killed off in brutal ways on their first mission, save for Domino. That’s right, Fox’s X-Force marketing was a giant diversion that provided “Deadpool 2” with a bloody punchline.
“Deadpool 2” brings together the X-Force and then kills them off, which leaves fans wondering what exactly Fox and writer-director Drew Goddard have in store for the announced “X-Force” movie. “X-Force” will be the next installment in the “Deadpool” universe before a proper third “Deadpool” sequel is made. Goddard confirmed to Entertainment Weekly his superhero movie will focus exclusively on Deadpool, Cable, and Domino.
“It really all stems from a place of love; I love those comics, I love Ryan, I love Josh, and I love Zazie Beetz,” Goddard said of his plans for the upcoming “X-Force” tentpole. “When I think of the comics, I think of Cable and Domino and Deadpool, and it’s really just knowing, ‘Oh, right, there’s a world in the X-Universe for the blunt instruments of mutantdom.’ It’s much more about the characters and my love for them than it is about any plot or storyline. It’s more about loving them and wanting to see them bounce off each other. I trust that my love of these three will lead me someplace new.”
The fate of Goddard’s “X-Force” movie was predicated on the choices made in “Deadpool 2,” but it turned out to be a storytelling strategy that wasn’t as restricting as one might think. For starters, Goddard hasn’t even begun writing “X-Force.” The director, who served as a script supervisor on “Deadpool 2,” encouraged Reynolds and co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to have fun and not worry about how their choices would effect his follow-up film.
“One thing I said to Ryan was, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ll come up with new ideas; you guys go make your movie, and do your thing. We’ll figure it out,’” Goddard said. “That tends to be the way I like to work. It’s much more important to focus on making the movie that you’re making than focusing on the next thing. It’s much more important to just make one good movie and take your time, then let that dictate what the movies are after.”
Reynolds, Reese, and Wernick ultimately came up with the decision to introduce a larger X-Force team and then kill more than half of them. Fortunately, Goddard loved the choice.
“To be honest, I think that’s why it excited me so much,” Goddard said. “I remember reading that scene and just cackling with delight, specifically because it was the very last thing you’d expect to happen in one of these movies. These movies are so careful to set up the next thing and the next thing, and it made me so happy.”
“What I love most about what Ryan and his crew over there was able to do with the ‘Deadpool’ movies is bring this certain sense of surprise and danger,” Goddard continued. “You walk into those movies, and you really don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Goddard is hoping to bring that same level of shock and danger to “X-Force.” The director will start writing the superhero tentpole after he finishes post-production on his new film “Bad Times at the El Royale,” which opens in theaters October 5.
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