The X-Men universe is set to expand in a major way next month when Deadpool 2 premieres, giving fans their first look at the team of mutant mercenaries known as X-Force.
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And though their adventures will continue in their own film in the future, there was originally a very different plan for X-Force under the direction of Jeff Wadlow. The Truth or Dare director recently opened up about his canceled plans for the mutant movie, teasing how it would be very different from what fans have seen in the X-Men cinematic universe so far.
“Right after Kick-Ass 2, I went in there and said, ‘Listen, if the X-Men is about mutants that get to go to the fancy private school, I want to tell the story of the mutants that go to public school,’” Wadlow said to Collider. “Because I went to public school and there was no one in a jet, swooping down and telling me I was special. I had to figure it out on my own. And I wanted to make a mutant about those mutants and talk about what happens to them.”
It sounds like the vision that Wadlow discussed for his film is being applied to The New Mutants, the horror-inspired movie that’s seen numerous delays in the last few months. That movie, directed by Josh Boone, is set to premiere next year.
But at the time, 20th Century Fox had to make an internal decision over whether to pursue an X-Force movie or to focus on Deadpool, with the leaked test footage being a hit among fans,
“I wrote a draft and they really liked it,” Wadlow said. “They just reached a critical moment, where they were deciding whether they were going to make Deadpool or X-Force. I’ve always loved Deadpool and I tried to rehabilitate him in my X-Force movie because, like the rest of the fans, I felt like they totally screwed it up in X-Men: Origins. I had actually been talking to Ryan Reynolds about playing him in my X-Force movie, but my X-Force movie was much more focused on Cable and the New Mutants becoming this paramilitary unit.”
Deadpool 2 will feature a version of X-Force, though it’s likely not the same thing Wadlow had envisioned.
Director David Leitch, who is tackling the sequel, spoke with USA Today about bringing a team of mutants together and the kind of challenges a character like Deadpool presents when working alongside others.
“Building a team in the classic style of all action movies, there’s great opportunity for conflict,” Leitch said. The Merc with the Mouth might not be a team player, “but it’s not because he doesn’t want to. Maybe his fun, never-stop-talking personality is a little grating and people get tired of him. It’s not for lack of his good heart. At the end of the day, he wants to be a better person and do the right thing, and sometimes his thinking is flawed, like all of us.”
Deadpool 2 premieres May 18th.
Are you excited to see X-Force on the big screen? Let us know in the comment section!
