Throughout the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, moviegoers have seen numerous Marvel Comics icons grace the big screen for the first time. Alongside the likes of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire), and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) has had arguably the biggest mainstream pop culture impact of them all. His solo movies have raked over a billion dollars at the box office, he has become an even bigger merchandise juggernaut than he already was, and proven without a doubt that R-rated comedy superhero movies can not only work, but thrive.
In hindsight, it’s not too surprising that Deadpool turned out to be a successful movie star. In the pages of Marvel Comics, his stories are full of action, comedy, fourth wall breaks, and even heart, which sounds like the perfect list of attributes for a feature film. Not to mention, at one point he’s described as a cross between Reynolds and a Shar-Pei in one of his comic adventures, so he was practically cast long before he became a big screen favorite and superhero genre influencer.
However, in reality, it took time, big mistakes, and surprising twists to get the Merc with a Mouth to the cinema. In fact, at times it seemed that he’d never make it there at all, only for him to exceed all expectations and defy countless detractors, studio executives included. What all of these elements amount to is a fascinating tale of one mutant’s journey from print to live action.
This is Wade Wilson’s odyssey from comics to the movies, from 20th Century Fox to Marvel Studios.
The origin of Deadpool’s cinematic introduction
Deadpool’s cinematic journey dates all the way back to 2000, when, as reported by Variety, Artisan Entertainment penned a deal to bring several Marvel characters to the movies. Unfortunately, development on a Deadpool-centric project was slow going. Writer David S. Goyer shared in 2004 that such a film was coming together at New Line Cinema (via IGN), but, as fate would have it, the project didn’t make it off the ground within the decade. Simultaneously, other efforts like X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Ghost Rider took big screen precedent to varying levels of prosperity.
At the very least, the casting of Deadpool himself was locked in during this stretch of time. Reynolds, who had jumped into the Marvel movie world for the first time in 2004 as Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, expressed interest to IGN in playing Wade in the future. Sure enough, the actor got his wish, but it came with some caveats. Not only would his first appearance in the role be confined to a movie dedicated to another Marvel legend, but it would deviate quite far from the comic book version fans had come to love.
The X-Men Origins: Wolverine fiasco
In 2009, Fox was exploring the idea of giving several of their X-Men franchise characters solo movies exploring their origins. Though one for Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) was planned alongside it, the one centered on Wolverine was the only one to make it down the production pipeline. X-Men Origins: Wolverine opened in the United States on May 1, 2009 to widespread frustration from Marvel fans, casual moviegoers, and critics alike. One of the biggest sources of said disappointment was the film’s abysmal take on Deadpool, who battles Wolverine and Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) in the final act.
This take on Deadpool is, well, awful. He’s a visual swing-and-a-miss, lacking the character’s signature red and black suit and instead opting for sweatpants and no shirt. His swords are attached to his hands, he can naturally teleport (comic Deadpool has this ability thanks to technology), and has the ability to fire optic blasts. Worst of all, his mouth is sewn shut, preventing Wade from spitting out one-liners and jokes like he does in the comics. All in all, this is a take on the character that Deadpool fans despise that one can’t help but feel was created a deep-seeded dislike of the source material.
The leaked test footage that changed it all
Reynolds didn’t have much say in the matter of Deadpool’s adaptation in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He shared during a 2016 SiriusXM radio interview that he had no choice but to go with it if he wanted to play Deadpool in his own movie. “It was sort of like, ‘Play Deadpool in this movie, or else we’ll get someone else to.’ And I just said, ‘I’ll do it, but it’s the wrong version,'” the actor said. Despite playing ball, progress was still moving at a snail’s pace on Deadpool as creatives came and went. Not to mention, when the Reynolds-led DC film Green Lantern floundered, Fox executives grew apprehensive of the entire thing (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Hopeful the project wouldn’t end up scrapped, director Tim Miller went for broke and convinced Fox to fund animated test footage featuring Reynolds as a fresh, new, and comic-accurate take on Deadpool. The idea was to convince the powers that be that the film could be a big win if he and the team got a proper chance. They put the footage together in 2012, and Fox was not convinced. That is, until it was mysteriously leaked online in 2014 to widespread praise and positivity. With that, the folks at Fox quickly changed their tune, and Deadpool was officially slated for a 2016 release.
The monumental success of Deadpool and Deadpool 2
At long last, Deadpool arrived in theaters on February 12, 2016, marking a new era for the character. Long gone are his laser eyes and stitched-up mouth, replaced by a comic-inspired suit, crude jokes, and copious bloody action. He’s centerstage for his origin story, as he goes from a terminally-ill former mercenary to a costumed crime-fighter, reuniting with his beloved Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and befriending X-Men Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) in the process. The film received love from all sides and grossed well over $780 million at the worldwide box office.
Unsurprisingly, this financial and critical prosperity led to a sequel, the aptly-titled Deadpool 2, in 2018. This time around, Wade is accompanied by friends old and new alike as he prevents the time-traveling Cable (Josh Brolin) from killing a troubled young mutant named Russell Collins (Julian Dennison). Through time travel antics after the main plot wraps up, he even prevents Ryan Reynolds from taking on Green Lantern and kills off the X-Men Origins Deadpool. Much like its predecessor, the film performed well with fans and critics alike and made over $780 million at the box office.
The studio switch and canceled projects
With the first two Deadpool movies standing as undeniable success stories, it seemed that Fox was primed for a new generation of mutant-centric movies. However, that notion was swiftly dashed in 2019 when Fox was sold to the Walt Disney Company for a staggering $71.3 billion. The studio’s Marvel intellectual properties were folded into Marvel Studios and all remaining Marvel features in development were tossed. The Fox X-Men universe ultimately ended with The New Mutants, which finally debuted in 2020. Meanwhile, a Deadpool-focused and a Deadpool-adjacent story were left to fade into cinematic obscurity.
Thanks to the Fox-Disney deal, the original plan for Deadpool 3 was canned. According to Reynolds on X, the plan was for a road trip-style movie starring Deadpool and Wolverine akin to 1950’s Rashomon. Dopinder actor Karan Soni noted that the film could’ve seen Deadpool venture to the North Pole to save Christmas. A movie focused on X-Force, the team introduced and almost completely killed off in Deadpool 2, was in progress as well and had been for years prior. It’s unknown just how closely tied this film would’ve been to the Deadpool duology, though Reynolds’ Deadpool and Josh Brolin’s Cable were said to be involved in some capacity.
Deadpool enters the House of Mouse
Even though Fox’s take on a third Deadpool movie didn’t come to fruition, it’s no surprise that another Deadpool adventure became a viewable reality. From the moment Deadpool and the X-Men became fair game to join Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans began speculating on when they could expect them to arrive. In the years after 2019, mutants slowly started trickling their way into the sprawling franchise, but where was the movie announcement? September 2022 finally brought the news so many had been waiting for, that Deadpool 3 was on the way, but the excitement didn’t end there.
When Reynolds shared the news of Deadpool 3 being in development at Marvel Studios, he also revealed that Hugh Jackman would reprise the role of Wolverine for the feature, which was later renamed as Deadpool & Wolverine. Jackman previously retired from the character in 2017 via Logan after spending almost two decades within it. Further sweetening the deal, it came to light that, at long last, Jackman would don Wolverine’s iconic yellow and blue suit for the film. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to cap off the Deadpool trilogy and to commemorate both Deadpool and Wolverine’s first MCU appearances.
With years worth of ups, downs, trials, and tribulations behind it, Deadpool’s third and potentially most highly-anticipated movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, is now playing.
