The death of Hugh Jackman at the end of Logan last year left a huge hole for the X-Men series to fill.
Not only because the Australian had been leading the franchise since 2000, but just because of the sheer magnetism and screen presence that he oozes. Currently, it’s hard to know which direction the “X-Men” series is going to go until after the release of “Dark Phoenix” and “The New Mutants” next year.
But Wolverine’s replacement at the head of the series might have been hiding in plain sight the entire time. Because even though Deadpool thrives as an outsider, the huge success of the 2016 film and the critical acclaim for its follow-up proves just how popular the character is with fans.
I recently had the chance to speak director David Leitch about “Deadpool 2,” during which time I suggested that Wade Wilson should now be regarded as the leader of the “X-Men” franchise, and that one film could revolve around him being just that.
“I think there’s a lot of ways that we can go with the future of the franchise,” Leitch explained. “I think he can be a leader. I think that can be part of the lessons that he learns. It can be him becoming a more developed human being.”
“I think that’s what it is fun about ‘Deadpool.’ We can relate to him. We are all sort of flawed people trying to work it out. And generally our hearts and our intentions are in the right place. He can be a leader. It can take some work. He has some issues he has to work through. But that will be the fun part. “
Meanwhile, Rob Delaney, who plays Peter in “Deadpool 2,” thinks that it would be crazy if there wasn’t a sequel to the blockbuster. Reynolds had previously suggested that there might be a Deadpool 3, comments he has since backtracked on.
“Maybe Ryan and people from the studio will get mad at me for saying this but the fact is that the second film is superior to the first film. And the first film was amazing. I think with the first film they were figuring out this new language.”
“Like ‘Deadpool’ or not it was a striking original achievement. So with the second one they have really learned what they are doing, it is more assured, it is funnier, it is scarier, there are even moments where you are like, ‘Why am I crying? It is Deadpool’.”
“So it is quite a heady blend. I think people are going to be very surprised. It is going to get critical acclaim, mark my words, and all that stuff. It is an amazing movie. So if the second one is better than the first one then obviously should they chose to do more, then yeah they could.”
But when I asked Delaney if he would return for “Deadpool 3” he had a rather good excuse for not answering the question.
“I have a thing that they gave me that I can and can’t answer, and questions like that are in big, bold letters and I can’t say anything. Bizarrely I can give you Ryan Reynolds’ Canadian social security number, because it is just not worth anything.”
