‘Deadpool’ Sequel Already in the Works

In news that should shock pretty much no one given the current state of superhero studio films, a Deadpool sequel is already in the works, with Fox reportedly giving the Merc With a Mouth’s follow-up the green light before his first solo outing even hits theaters. Box office tracking for the R-rated superhero film indicates that it’s going to perform pretty well, and early word-of-mouth from promotional screenings has been fairly positive (though the film is far more divisive among critics).

THR reports that 20th Century Fox has given Deadpool 2 the official green light, with Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick already at work on the screenplay for the sequel. Just yesterday, we learned that Ryan Reynolds’ next order of business is getting the X-Force movie off the ground, and a Deadpool sequel could very well help him do that by introducing fellow team members — particularly Cable, whom Reynolds has said he’d love to put in the sequel.

Deadpool is looking to open at around $65 million over the upcoming weekend (which includes the holiday on Monday), and if crowds at early promo screenings are any indication, it could be a little more. The line at my local screening last week was longer than any line I’d seen at that theater for any other film — including other superhero movies — and dozens of people were turned away.

As THR also notes, Deadpool is an interesting exception in the studio system, as Reese and Wernick were on board from the early (and conveniently “leaked”) test footage all the way through to the finished film, on which they were also given executive producer credits. That’s kind of a big deal considering that most studio films (especially superhero films, and even more especially projects that are deemed this risky) tend to cycle through several screenwriters and drafts before landing on a screenplay that’s basically stitched together, Frankenstein-style.

Again, this isn’t really surprising news, but it’s news nonetheless and should have fans of Deadpool feeling pretty stoked right about now.