‘Deadpool’s Brianna Hildebrand Shares Her Reaction To The Sequel’s LGBT Romance

Deadpool 2 isn’t afraid to go places other superhero films won’t. Known for its irreverent humor and action, the movie is provocative enough to make the toughest critics smile, but the sequel has more than just jokes on its side. Deadpool 2 is the first superhero film to openly feature a same-sex couple, and Brianna Hildebrand says she feels amazing about the whole thing.

Recently, Hildebrand spoke with Playboy about her work on the Deadpool sequel, and she wasn’t afraid to talk about her on-screen romance. The actress, who plays Negasonic Teenage Warhead, is reintroduced in the sequel alongside her girlfriend Yukio. For Hildebrand, the big reveal was a special one that she could really relate to.

According to the actress, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) approached Hildebrand about her character being in a LGBT relationship. The star, who identifies as a gay woman, said she was on-board from the start.

“Ryan just sent me an email and was like, ‘How would you feel about this?’ ” Hildebrand said.

“And so that’s great—I’m glad he asked me how I would feel about it. Obviously, I was like, ‘I feel amazing about it. Let’s do it!’ I am glad that he asked me, though. I probably would have been like, ‘Wow.’”

Clearly, the star was thrilled the sequel reached out to the LGBT community with its same-sex romance. However, Hildebrand says her sexuality hasn’t been warmly received by Hollywood off-screen.

“I remember going to a few different publicists and that being on the forefront of their mind, like ‘How would you like to go about this? We can keep this under wraps, if that’s what you would like,’ ” she recalled.

“It just kind of surprised me a little bit because I was like, ‘I didn’t suggest that.’ I’m totally fine with who I am. I know that that’s how Hollywood used to work. But they didn’t really know me—maybe they thought I was [private]. I’d rather just be like, ‘This is what it is.’”

Hildebrand appears to be in a more grounded place these days with her career and love life. The actress currently lives with her girlfriend Jonneke Grisham, and her work with Deadpool has been well-received by fans worldwide. Her character’s biting jokes are the only ones capable of zinging Wade Wilson into silence, and Deadpool 2 didn’t change anything about Negasonic Teenage Warhead as such. Sure, the sequel may have given the girl a girlfriend, but director David Leitch told Yahoo that choice wasn’t mean to be a statement.

As for co-writer Paul Wernick, the man said the LGBT couple was just a piece of “everyday life.”

“We ground Deadpool in real life,” Wernick explained. “As outrageous as it is, Deadpool is a very, very grounded movie.”

Are you shipping this new Deadpool couple? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!