Jokes, budget, and Cable are all on Rhett Reese’s and Paul Wernick’s mind as they write Deadpool 2.
Let’s travel way back in time to February 9, 2016.
Deadpool has yet to release in America, and no one is expecting the film destroy box office records, or have the biggest opening for an R-rated movie ever.
Well, maybe no one except for FOX, as the film’s studio greenlit a sequel for Deadpool on this date, days before the film debuted worldwide.
Now, a couple of weeks later, the movie continues to draw in audiences, and fans are already feverishly waiting to see more of the Merc with a Mouth.
The film’s writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, are well aware of all of this, as they explained in an interview with Collider what they think made the film such a success, and what fans should expect in the sequel, which they are currently writing.
The writers began by discussing what they learned audiences really liked from the first film.
“People love the fourth-wall stuff, we’ve learned that. I think people appreciated the fact that the story was simple… There’s so much zaniness that I think just having a clear throughline, a pretty simple story, not a ton of plot twists or weird things you have to try to figure out or understand, makes you able to just have fun with all that zaniness that you throw on top of it. So I think we learned keep it simple, keep it zany, go ahead and break the rules in all the ways that Deadpool does, and hopefully you’re in a pretty safe space.”
We would definitely agree that the simplicity of the story worked well with the Deadpool’s sense of humor, but the writers also added that the film’s “beating heart,” specifically the love story between Wade Wilson and Vanessa, further helped audiences connect with the characters, and humanize a very “zany” film.
Reese and Wernick went on to talk about what to expect for Deadpool 2, first by addressing the budget of the film.
The first film, as Deadpool points on in the movie, was fairly modest, at only $58 million.
Despite the massive success of the film, as it now has grossed nearly $500 million worldwide, the writers intend to keep the budget of the sequel low, as they believe it complements the characters and universe they are creating.
“We don’t want $150 million to go make the next movie, that’s not Deadpool. Deadpool doesn’t lift cities up into the air or battle aliens coming down to earth, that’s just not Deadpool. So we’re happy in that little small budget range that they have us in; we don’t wanna blow this next one out.”
Hopefully this low-budget will cover the costs of casting Cable, as along with being teased in the film’s post credit scene, this gruff mutant from the future has all but been officially confirmed to star in the sequel.
The writers spoke to what can be expected if Cable does indeed show up in the next film, specifically, how he and his “world” won’t steal the spotlight from Deadpool.
“I think if Cable and Deadpool team up, it will likely be in Deadpool’s world. That allows us to control that budgetary thing a little more; I don’t think we’re gonna see Deadpool and Cable on some far-flung planet 300 years from now because I just feel like that’s gonna be expensive, A, and will also take away from the relatability of Deadpool. I think at this stage in the game it’s about taking other people and dropping them into this reasonably insular, gritty, urban, dark world of Deadpool.”
Reese and Wernick seem to have a very strong understanding of what made Deadpool so fantastic, and this is obviously reflected in the success of their film, and their plans for the sequel.
We’re pumped for Deadpool 2, and it makes us even more excited knowing the film is in such good hands.
