There has been an endless parade of TV spots, trailers and marketing stunts for the ambitiously spot-on adaptation of the Deadpool character from the Marvel Comics. Even better, the movie appears to be living up to the buzz surrounding its release with early fan reactions being overwhelmingly positive and the professionals weighing in with an equally encouraging response - “encouraging” in the sense that anyone that hasn’t already bought a ticket will more than likely have one in their back pocket by now. It’s no wonder that a Deadpool sequel is already (reportedly) in the works.
Ryan Reynolds first played The Merc with a Mouth on the big screen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009 - and while that movie is regarded by many as the worst X-Men film to date, it turns out that Reynolds and star Hugh Jackman make quite the formidable team. Even though Jackman doesn’t appear in the unconventional comic book flick that is Deadpool, his mutant character Wolverine is referenced and mocked throughout.
During an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Deadpool co-writer Rhett Reese confirmed that Jackman was actually one of biggest supporters of the foul-mouthed mercenary’s love/hate relationship with the genre that he’s trapped in:
“The great thing about it is that Hugh was a little bit like a guardian angel for us. He was very supportive of the movie; he was very supportive of us poking fun at Wolverine. He’s a buddy of Ryan’s, so every request we made of him — like, can we use your People’s Sexiest Man Alive cover? — those were Hugh questions, they weren’t studio questions. And Hugh, every single time, was like, “Do it. I think that’s hilarious.””
While Jackman proved to be an all-round good sport over the perpetual Wolverine jibes, his character was referenced for other reasons as well, the most significant being his connection with the anti-hero Deadpool. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and (as noted by Reese during his Yahoo! interview) ‘healing powers’ are not the only common denominator between the characters, as similarities can also be drawn upon their comparable attitudes, behaviours and spirits:
Deadpool might be the most “standalone” movie in the X-Men franchise to date and if it proves to be a success - which is looking promising at this point - even more X-Men spinoffs may be given the green-light. In addition to the Channing Tatum headlined Gambit that’s due to start filming in New Orleans next month, that may also include the long-rumored X-Force movie - a project that Reynolds describes as being his ’next priority’ (hint, hint).
“And Wolverine, because he was the first really edgy, fun X-Men character, cast a pretty long shadow over our movie — in a good way. It feels like his spirit is mixed in. And I know in the comics it’s Wolverine’s healing factor that they inject into Deadpool. We didn’t explore that so much because we thought it would be confusing for the audience. But his DNA is in Deadpool, in that he’s a rebel and his temper gets the best of him. So Hugh was kind of inspirational and if he hadn’t been so willing to let us do those things, I don’t think the movie would be quite what it is.”
Deadpool opens in U.S. theaters on February 12, 2016, followed by X-Men: Apocalypse on May 27, 2016; Gambit sometime in 2017; Wolverine 3 on March 3, 2017; and an unannounced X-Men film on July 13, 2018. The New Mutants is also in development.
Source: Yahoo! Movies
