DEADPOOL Sequel Already In Works

To say that 20th Century Fox is optimistic about the release of their comedic superhero film Deadpool, might be an understatement. The film is tracking right now a projected opening weekend of anywhere between $65 and $81 million and a final domestic box office take of $185 million. Not bad for a film that they were reluctant to make due to the hard R rating it would need to truly capture its source material. We certainly liked it, and as of right now it has an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So naturally with this kind of steam behind it, the studio is already looking at a sequel.

The Hollywood Reporter is stating that they are hearing from insiders that a sequel has already been greenlit and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the Zombieland writers who scripted the current Deadpool film, will be back to perform the same chore for Deadpool 2. The Reporter also notes that although director Tim Miller’s contract did not have an option for a sequel, the studio would very much like to have the entire creative team involved for the follow up.

It is not surprising that Fox wants to have the entire team back for Deadpool 2. Reese and Wernick, along with star Ryan Reynolds, fought with the studio for their vision of the script. All too often, writers happen to be the most disposable part of the filmmaking process, for better or worse. Often worse. That they were able to, along with director Miller, get this film made without too many changes from their initial draft to what is on the screen has apparently earned them some carte blanche with the studio. A remember, this is the studio that has a rather notorious reputation for meddling in superhero films, often to their detriment.

Of course, there has been no official announcement of Deadpool 2 yet, so we will have to wait for the scheduling of a release date. In the meantime though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio tries to cash in on the character’s popularity and squeeze an appearance by him into whatever X-Men film follows this summer’s X-Men: Apocalypse.