Deadpool 2

Deadpool 2 is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is intended to be the twelfth installment in the X-Men film series, and a sequel to the 2016 film Deadpool. The film is being directed by David Leitch from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, with Ryan Reynolds starring in the title role alongside Morena Baccarin, T. J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin, and Jack Kesy.

Plans for a sequel to Deadpool began before that film's release, and were confirmed in February 2016. Though the original creative team of Reynolds, Reese, Wernick, and director Tim Miller were quickly set to return for the second film, Miller left the project in October 2016 due to creative differences with Reynolds, and was soon replaced by Leitch. Drew Goddard had also been in contention to direct, and joined the film to consult on the script in early 2017. An extensive casting search to fill the role of Cable took place, with Brolin ultimately cast in the role. Filming began in June 2017 in British Columbia, Canada.

Deadpool 2 is scheduled to be released on June 1, 2018.

Cast

• Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool:
  A wisecracking mercenary with accelerated healing but severe scarring over his body after undergoing an experimental regenerative mutation.^[1]
• Morena Baccarin as Vanessa: An escort and Wilson's fiancée.^[2]
• T. J. Miller as Weasel: Wilson's best friend, the owner of a bar frequented by mercenaries.^[3]
• Leslie Uggams as Blind Al: An elderly blind woman and Deadpool's roommate.^[4]
• Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead:
  A teenage X-Men trainee with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body.^[5] Hildebrand felt that "it’s cool that she’s grown and matured and she still has so much of this essence of a punk kid" from the first film, and added that the character would have a "cooler" costume in the sequel.^[6]
• Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus: An X-Man with the mutant ability to transform his entire body into organic steel.^[5]
• Zazie Beetz as Neena Thurman / Domino:
  A mercenary with the mutant ability to manipulate luck.^[7][8] Beetz began "doing strength conditioning, so that’s like working out everyday" when she got the role, for which she has to "be shooting guns, I fight and a lot of that movement is full body and physical."^[9]
• Josh Brolin as Nathan Summers / Cable: A time travelling soldier, "in many ways the opposite of Deadpool". Brolin signed a four-film deal to play the character.^[10]
• Jack Kesy as Black Tom Cassidy: A mutant who can manipulate energy through plants.^[11]

Additionally, Karan Soni returns as the taxi driver Dopinder from the first film.^[12] Shiori Kutsuna and Julian Dennison have been cast in undisclosed roles.^[13][14]

Production

Development

Producer Simon Kinberg revealed in September 2015 that discussions had begun regarding ideas for a sequel to Deadpool, which was set to be released in February 2016. One idea was for the film to introduce the character Cable, who had previously been looked at to appear in the first Deadpool, and X-Men: Days of Future Past before that.^[15] Cable's inclusion in the potential sequel was confirmed by the character Deadpool, breaking the fourth wall, in the post-credit scene of the first film. Domino, a character with connections to Cable in the comics, was also believed to be featured in the sequel.^[16] By the first film's release, 20th Century Fox had green-lit a sequel, with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick returning to write the screenplay. Though director Tim Miller and producer/star Ryan Reynolds were not confirmed for the sequel at the time, Fox was "intent on keeping the creative team together."^[1] Miller and Reynolds' involvement was confirmed at the 2016 CinemaCon that April,^[17] though Miller had still not formally signed on to direct the sequel yet. He began work developing the script with the writers, while Reynolds had signed a new contract granting him "casting approval and other creative controls".^[18]

In June 2016, Kinberg said that a completed draft from Wernick and Rheese was expected "soon", and that they were looking to begin filming the sequel at the beginning of 2017.^[20] By August, Kyle Chandler was believed to be in the running to portray Cable.^[21] Testing of actresses for Domino had also begun by October, with the shortlist of actresses under consideration including Lizzy Caplan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sienna Miller, Sofia Boutella, Stephanie Sigman, Sylvia Hoeks, Mackenzie Davis, Ruby Rose, Eve Hewson and Kelly Rohrbach.^[8] The producers were particularly interested in casting a black or Latina actress in the role.^[7]

At the end of October, Miller left the film over "mutual creative differences" with Reynolds.^[22] The rift between the pair was reportedly based on several factors, including Reynolds expanded creative control over the sequel; Miller's wish for a more stylized follow-up than the first film, versus Reynolds' focus "on the raunchy comedy style that earned the first movie its R rating"; and Miller's intention to cast Chandler as Cable, which Reynolds opposed. Fox ultimately backed "its marketable star" over Miller, who had made his directorial debut with the first film.^[18] Miller denied these reported reasons,^[23] while Reynolds said, "All I can really add is that I'm sad to see him off the film. Tim's brilliant and nobody worked harder on Deadpool than he did."^[24] A week after Miller's departure, Fox was looking at David Leitch, Drew Goddard, Magnus Martens, and Rupert Sanders as potential replacements for the director.^[25][26] Leitch was the "strong frontrunner" for the role,^[27] and signed on to direct a month later.^[26] Reynolds, a fan of Leitch's John Wick, said the director "really understands those Deadpool sensibilities and where we need to take the franchise from here." He added that Leitch "can make a movie on an ultra tight minimal budget look like it was shot for 10-15 times what it cost."^[19]

Pre-production

Reese and Wernick had completed multiple drafts of the script by January 2017, and "It’s taken different twists and turns, but it’s really coalescing"; the film was still on track to begin filming that year.^[28] The pair felt a responsibility to explore the team X-Force, which includes Deadpool, Cable, and Domino in the comics, with Reese saying the sequel's purpose "is not to set up X-Force [but] it will likely set up X-Force."^[29] He did clarify that though the film will be "populated with a lot of characters ... it is still Deadpool's movie".^[28] The pair confirmed that Stefan Kapičić's Colossus, Brianna Hildebrand's Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Karan Soni's Dopinder would be returning from the first film to "make at least an appearance",^[5][12] and that the film would not be exploring the details of Cable's convoluted comic origins.^[30] By the next month, it had been noted that there had been few announcements from Fox regarding the film, and that a release date had not yet been set which was seen as unusual for sequels to popular films (often studios "announce sequels far too soon and with no idea what will happen"), with the issue deemed to be the film's script. Reynolds, Reese, and Wernick had been "bunkered down, working on the script together, trying to cross the finish line and create something everyone is excited to make", and now Goddard was joining the project to consult on the script.^[31]

By the beginning of March 2017, Michael Shannon had been in the running to portray Cable, but no longer could due to a scheduling conflict.^[32] David Harbour had screen-tested for the role,^[33] and Pierce Brosnan was believed to be in negotiations for a part in the film, potentially Cable.^[34] Reynolds announced shortly after that Zazie Beetz had been cast as Domino.^[7] Later in the month, Shannon was in the running to portray Cable again, and was considered the frontrunner, with Fox also looking at a shortlist of other actors that included Harbour.^[35] Brad Pitt had also been considered for the role, and expressed interest in taking it on, but had "moved on".^[36] Leitch soon addressed the potential casting of these actors, saying Shannon "would make an incredible Cable ... If that happens, I would be through the roof";^[37] and on Pitt, "We had a great meeting with Brad, he was incredibly interested in the property. Things didn't work out schedule-wise. He's a fan, and we love him, and I think he would've made an amazing Cable."^[38] At the end of March, Morena Baccarin confirmed her return from the first film as Vanessa, and expressed interest in exploring the character's Copycat persona from the comics in the sequel.^[2] Josh Brolin emerged as a "surprise contender" to play Cable in April, ahead of Shannon and Harbour, and was officially cast in the role. Brolin also portrays the Marvel Comics character Thanos, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^[10] Leslie Uggams confirmed that she would be reprising her role of Blind Al from the first film,^[4] while Fox gave the sequel a June 1, 2018 release date.^[39]

In May 2017, Fox was reportedly looking to use a post-credits scene at the end of Deadpool 2 to introduce several other members of X-Force who would go on to star alongside Reynolds, Brolin, and Beetz in an X-Force film. Casting for the characters—Sunspot, Feral, and Shatterstar—would take place over the coming months, though Reese denied the accuracy of this report.^[40] Later, T. J. Miller confirmed that he would return from the first film as Weasel, and described the sequel as "even more weaselicious" than the first. He noted that Reynolds and the writers had "really put the time in on the script" to meet their own expectations for the sequel as well as those of fans.^[3] Jack Kesy also joined the cast, as Black Tom Cassidy.^[11] In June, Shiori Kutsuna was cast in a key role for the film.^[13]

Filming

Initial filming had begun by June 17, 2017, at Hatley Castle in Canada, which is used to portray the X-Mansion in the X-Men films.^[41] Principal photography began in Vancouver on June 26, under the working title Love Machine.^[42][43][44] Jonathan Sela serves as cinematographer for the film.^[44] At the end of June, Reynolds revealed that Julian Dennison had been cast in the film.^[14] The next month, T. J. Miller said that he found the sequel to be funnier than the first film, and that "it’s not going to be the same movie in a different location [like The Hangover Part II]. It’s got different stakes, different things happen, some pretty tragic, dark shit happens in the first part of the film, in the beginning, and the rest of the film is kind of dealing with that".^[45] By then, Kapičić had been working with Leitch on the set, and expected to continue contributing to Colossus through to April 2018.^[46] Filming is expected to last in Vancouver until October 6.^[42]

Music

Deadpool composer Junkie XL chose not to return for the sequel due to Miller's departure.^[47]

Release

Deadpool 2 is set to be released in the United States on June 1, 2018.^[39]

Marketing

For the Fox presentation at CineEurope 2017 in June, Reynolds made a video message featuring himself in costume as Deadpool from the film's set.^[48]

Sequel

By November 2016, with development underway on Deadpool 2, Fox was also planning Deadpool 3, which was said to include the team X-Force.^[49] With the confirmation that Leitch would direct Deadpool 2, it was revealed that Fox was looking for a separate filmmaker to take on directing for Deadpool 3.^[26] In March 2017, Reese clarified that though Deadpool 2 sets-up the X-Force team, a future film focused on the team would be separate from Deadpool 3, "so I think we'll be able to take two paths. [X-Force] is where we're launching something bigger, but then [Deadpool 3 is] where we're contracting and staying personal and small."^[50]

References

External links

• Deadpool 2 on IMDb