Golden Globes-nominated, WGA Award-nominated, and possibly Oscar-nominated arthouse film Deadpool made the most of its estimated $58 million budget, becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie ever and the 66th highest grossing movie worldwide of all time. This has ensured a sequel, which was one of the topics writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick discussed in an interview with Deadline.
The long interview includes an unsurprising reveal about Deadpool 2. Expect more X-Men characters now that they can afford the rights:
Where in the process are you with Deadpool 2 at the moment? Is it still a stand-alone sequel for the character?
Rhett Reese: Yeah, it’ll be a solo movie. It’ll be populated with a lot of characters, but it is still Deadpool’s movie, this next one. We’re pushing forward very hard. I think by every account we will shoot it this year, and we’re on our multiple draft now. It’s taken different twists and turns, but it’s really coalescing, and we’re very, very excited. We’re a little nervous, because now we feel like we have to live up to the first movie, but at the same time, we have to have faith, and we have an extreme passion still, and as long as we have passion still, and it’s not a mercenary, venal play, which we don’t think this is, I think we’ll be in good shape.
The script for the first movie had to cut several characters due to Fox execs calling every character “too expensive” until the Deadpool team suggested Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Fox execs reportedly said, “Negasonic, what?” Although they’ve said they don’t want to go overboard with the budget, Deadpool 2 will have a little more scratch to add Cable and “a lot of characters,” as Reese says.
Ryan Reynolds spent eleven years trying to get Deadpool made, but it wasn’t until the test footage leaked that the studio got behind it. Everyone’s been secretive about who leaked the footage, with Reynolds saying “I’m 70% sure it wasn’t me” but offering to give the leaker a kiss “full on the mouth, sloppy, with tongue, for two straight minutes on live television, without commercial interruption. And then I’ll buy you dinner at Red Lobster, at least, and dessert.”
Now writer Paul Wernick offers a totally real, not at all “fake news” version of the events:
“We’ve always wondered who leaked that test footage. There’s really been only four suspects — it’s been myself, Rhett, Ryan [Reynolds], and [director] Tim [Miller], but a new suspect has emerged, and we’re gonna give you the scoop on this. It’s Putin, actually; Vladimir Putin leaked the test footage for Deadpool.”
Pucker up, Putin. Reynolds is going to take your ass to Red Lobster.
(Via Deadline)
