With the popularity of the character and Hugh Jackman’s iconic performance, you’d be forgiven for thinking a solo Wolverine movie would be an obvious home run. So, it’s strange that 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine was such a colossal misfire. A combination of a terrible script, shoddy CGI and several poor production decisions sunk the film and it’s generally considered the worst entry in Fox’s X-Universe.
Perhaps the biggest example of how much they screwed up was their treatment of Deadpool, who’s a very long way away from the mischievous fourth-wall-breaking antihero that captured the world’s heart in the 2016 solo movie for the character. Sure, we were introduced to this Merc with a Mouth as a smart-talkin’ assassin with superhuman reflexes. But that version was only on screen for a scene or two. Then they did Deadpool dirty. Real dirty.
First up, they sewed his mouth shut, making him completely silent. Then they ditched his classic costume, gave him Cyclops-style laser eyes and, worst of all, erased his personality with mind control. At this point, why even call him Deadpool?
Now, Scott Adkins, who doubled for Ryan Reynolds during the martial arts scenes, has said that he instantly knew these were bad decisions and that they weren’t going to work, explaining:
““Well me and Ryan never really interacted on set. When I got the role and went down I was excited. I was fully expecting to see the entire Deadpool costume and all that. When they brought me in and I saw the concept art of the mouth sewn shut and the laser eyes and the claws that pop out, I thought, ‘This isn’t going to work’. I wish Ryan would have called me up for Deadpool 2. You know that bit at the end where he goes back to X-Men Origins: Wolverine? He could have killed me in the end. After all it was my fault.”
Fortunately, as we all know, Reynolds launched a long-term campaign to do the Merc properly, culminating in the monster successes of Deadpool and Deadpool 2. And right now, Marvel Studios are hard at work on Deadpool 3, with Bob’s Burgers writers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin on script duties. Don’t expect to see it for a while yet, though, as there’s some difficulty in finding a gap in Reynolds’ increasing busy schedule.
It looks at the moment as if we’ll be waiting until summer 2023 for Deadpool to return. But hey, at least he’ll have a mouth!