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''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, o ...
comedy film based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
character
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
. Distributed by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
, it is the
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to ''
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
'' (2016) and the eleventh installment overall in the ''X-Men'' film series. The film was directed by
David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film '' John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...
and written by
Rhett Reese Rhett Reese is an American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, his early credits included ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' and '' Cruel Intentions 3''. He has collaborated with Paul Wernick, writing the films ...
,
Paul Wernick Paul Wernick is a Canadian television/movie screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplays to the 2016 superhero film ''Deadpool'' and its 2018 sequel with his creative partner Rhett Reese. Career Early career Wernick h ...
, and
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over  billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
, who stars in the
title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
alongside
Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangst ...
,
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born 2 June 1979) is a Brazilian actress known for portraying Inara Serra in the sci-fi series ''Firefly'' and its follow-up film ''Serenity'', Vanessa in the superhero comedy franchise ''Deadpool'', Jess ...
, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller,
Brianna Hildebrand Brianna Caitlin Hildebrand (born August 14, 1996) is an American actress. She is best known for appearing as Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the films ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). She is also known for appearing in the web series ...
, and
Jack Kesy Jack Kesy () is an American actor. On television, he has portrayed Gabriel Bolivar on the FX horror drama '' The Strain'' (2014–2016) and Roller Husser on the TNT dark comedy '' Claws'' (2017–19). He also played Black Tom Cassidy in the M ...
. In the film,
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
forms the
X-Force X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 ( ...
to protect a young
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
from the time-traveling soldier Cable. Plans for a sequel to ''Deadpool'' began before the original film's release, and were confirmed in February 2016. Though the original creative team of Reynolds, Reese, Wernick, and director Tim Miller were quickly set to return for the second film, Miller left the project in October 2016 due to creative differences with Reynolds and was soon replaced by Leitch. An extensive casting search took place to fill the role of Cable, with Brolin ultimately cast. Filming took place in British Columbia from June to October 2017. The film is dedicated to stuntwoman Joi "SJ" Harris, who died in a motorcycle accident during filming. ''Deadpool 2'' was released in the United States on May 18, 2018. The film outgrossed its predecessor, earning over $785 million worldwide, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2018, the highest-grossing film in the ''X-Men'' series, and the highest-grossing R-rated film at the time. The film received positive reviews from critics, with some considering it superior to the first film and praising its humor, cast performances, story, and action sequences, while others criticized its tone, script, and recycled jokes. A PG-13-rated version of the film, titled '' Once Upon a Deadpool'', was released on December 12, 2018 to mixed reviews. Following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in March 2019, Deadpool's film rights reverted to
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
. A sequel, ''
Deadpool 3 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero comedy film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to ''Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment overall in the ''X-Men'' film series. ...
'', which will integrate the character into the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Ma ...
(MCU), is set for release on November 8, 2024, as the first film in Phase Six of the MCU.


Plot

After fighting organized crime as the wisecracking mercenary
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
for two years, Wade Wilson fails to kill one of his targets on his anniversary with his girlfriend Vanessa. That night, after the pair decides to start a family together, the target tracks Wade down and inadvertently kills Vanessa. Wade then kills him in revenge. Blaming himself for Vanessa's death, he attempts to die by suicide six weeks later by blowing himself up. Wade has a vision of her in the afterlife, but remains alive due to his healing abilities, and his body is restored by
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...
. Wade is left with only a
Skee-Ball Skee-Ball is an arcade game and one of the first redemption games. It is played by rolling a ball up an inclined lane and over a "ball-hop" hump (resembling a ski jump) that jumps the ball into bullseye rings. The object of the game is to collect ...
token, an anniversary gift, as a final memento of Vanessa. Recovering at the
X-Mansion The X-Mansion or Xavier Institute is the common name for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier, a character in X-M ...
, Wade reluctantly agrees to join the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
because he believes Vanessa would have wanted him to. He, Colossus, and
Negasonic Teenage Warhead Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Ellie Phimister) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the character first appeared in '' New X-Men'' #115 (2001). She is named after ...
respond to a standoff between authorities and the unstable young mutant
Russell Collins Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins, October 11, 1897 – November 14, 1965) was an American actor whose 43-year career included hundreds of performances on stage, in feature films, and on television. Early life Born in 1897 in Indiana ...
at an orphanage owned by the Essex Corporation, labeled a "Mutant Re-education Center". Realizing that Russell has been abused by the orphanage staff, Deadpool kills one of the staff members before being restrained by Colossus, and both Wade and Russell are arrested. Fitted with power-suppressing collars, they are taken to the Ice Box, an isolated prison for mutant criminals. Meanwhile, Cable, a cybernetic soldier from the future, travels back in time to kill Russell. Cable storms the Ice Box and attacks Russell. Wade, whose collar breaks in the ensuing melee, attempts to protect Russell. After Cable takes Vanessa's token, Wade forces himself and Cable out of the prison, but not before Russell overhears Wade deny that he cares for the young mutant. Near death again, Wade has another vision of Vanessa in which she convinces him to help Russell. Deadpool organizes a team called
X-Force X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 ( ...
to free Russell from a prison-transfer convoy and protect him from Cable. The team launches its assault on the convoy by parachute, but all members die during the landing except for Deadpool and the lucky
Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
. While a fight with Cable distracts them, Russell frees fellow inmate
Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...
, who agrees to help him kill the abusive orphanage headmaster. Juggernaut destroys the convoy, rips Deadpool in half, and escapes alongside Russell. While Deadpool recovers, Cable offers to work with Wade and Domino to stop Russell from killing the headmaster, as Russell will then become serial killer who slaughtered his family. Wade accepts on condition that Cable give him a chance to talk Russell down. At the orphanage, they are overpowered by Juggernaut while Russell pursues the headmaster. Colossus, who had at first refused to help due to Deadpool's murderous ways, arrives to distract Juggernaut. When Deadpool fails to placate Russell, Cable shoots at the young mutant. Deadpool leaps in front of the bullet while wearing the Ice Box collar and dies, reuniting with Vanessa in the afterlife. Wade managed to stop Russell from killing the headmaster, and consequently saves Cable's family. Cable uses the last charge reserved for his return to warp back several minutes, strapping Vanessa's token in front of Wade's heart so he survives the bullet. Afterward, the headmaster is run over and killed by Wade's taxi driver friend
Dopinder Dagger Dagoth Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange. Daken Dakimh the Enchanter Damballah Daniel Whitehall Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken. An elite assassin and member of the t ...
. In a mid-credits sequence, Negasonic Teenage Warhead and her girlfriend Yukio repair Cable's time-traveling device for Deadpool. He uses it to save the lives of Vanessa and X-Force member Peter, and kills both the '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' version of Deadpool and
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over  billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
after he finishes reading the screenplay for ''
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
.'' He then contemplates killing an infant
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
, but can't bring himself to do it.


Cast

*
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over  billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
as Wade Wilson / Deadpool:
A wisecracking mercenary with accelerated healing but severe scarring over his body after undergoing an experimental regenerative mutation. He forms the X-Force, a team of mutants, after finding himself at his "lowest point" at the beginning of the film. The film makes several references to Deadpool's
pansexuality , meaning "all" , definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender , classification = Sexual identity , parent = Bisexuality , synonyms = , associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofle ...
after the first film was criticized for ignoring it. As a co-writer on the film, Reynolds ad-libbed much of his dialogue throughout the production process. For the film's mid-credits sequence,
archive footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
of Reynolds portraying Deadpool in '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' is used, and Reynolds also portrays himself before he acted in the film ''
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
''. *
Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangst ...
as Cable:
A time-traveling cybernetic soldier, "in many ways the opposite of Deadpool". Director
David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film '' John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...
called the dynamic between Cable and Deadpool "sort of classic buddy-cop fare", and compared them to the characters portrayed by
Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
and
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
, respectively, in '' 48 Hrs.'' (1982). Leitch added that the character as written in the script was mostly just an "action character", and he relied on Brolin to add nuance to the role and explore the character's internal pain to avoid it becoming a caricature. Brolin signed a four-film deal, and described his appearance here as just the introduction for the character, with "three more movies to reveal more". *
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born 2 June 1979) is a Brazilian actress known for portraying Inara Serra in the sci-fi series ''Firefly'' and its follow-up film ''Serenity'', Vanessa in the superhero comedy franchise ''Deadpool'', Jess ...
as Vanessa:
Wilson's fiancée. The character is killed at the beginning of the film in an example of " fridging"—the killing of a female character to forward the development of a male character. This happens to Cable's wife and daughter as motivation for his story arc as well. Leitch and the writers said they were unaware of the term "fridging", and that they were not being "consciously sexist". Earlier versions of the film simply had Vanessa breaking up with Wilson, but the writers wanted to use the opportunity to "engender great suffering for him by having his line of work be the thing that costs Vanessa her life". They were also more comfortable with the deaths due to the increased number of strong female characters in the film, and because the deaths are reversed by the end of the film with time travel; screenwriter
Rhett Reese Rhett Reese is an American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, his early credits included ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' and '' Cruel Intentions 3''. He has collaborated with Paul Wernick, writing the films ...
stated, "Maybe that's a sexist thing. I don't know. And maybe some women will have an issue with that. I don't know. I don't think that that'll be a large concern, but it didn't even really occur to us." Baccarin said she trusted the storyline was necessary for the film, and emphasized the fact that Vanessa is saved at the end of the film. * Julian Dennison as Russell Collins / Firefist:
A young mutant with
pyrokinetic Pyrokinesis is the purported psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of pyrokinesis. Many alleged ...
abilities who is being hunted by Cable. Reynolds insisted on casting Dennison after seeing him in ''
Hunt for the Wilderpeople ''Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' is a 2016 New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, whose screenplay was based on the book ''Wild Pork and Watercress'' by Barry Crump. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison play "Uncle ...
'' (2016), with the character "tailor-made" for him, and no other actors considered for the role. Leitch thought the character was an "interesting take on the whole angle of the villain". Dennison felt the role was particularly special because, being "chubby", he would watch superhero films and "never see anyone like me. I am excited to be that for other kids who look like me."
Sala Baker Sala Baker (born 22 September 1976) is a New Zealand actor and stuntman. He is best known for portraying the villain Sauron in the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy by Peter Jackson. Career Originally hired as one of several stunt performers fo ...
plays the character at an older age, in Cable's future. * Zazie Beetz as
Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
:
A mercenary with the mutant ability to manipulate
luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
, who joins Deadpool's X-Force team. Leitch described the film's version of the character as Beetz' own "real fun interesting take", with the actress interpreting Domino as an only child who forms a "sibling sort of relationship" with Deadpool, with "that back-and-forth banter where she is not dealing with his". Beetz began "working out every day" when she got the role, which required her to shoot guns and use "full body" physicality, and chose not to shave her armpits to match the changing perception of the practice among the general public and to prove that it is "not something that is gross or shameful". * T.J. Miller as
Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodi ...
:
Wilson's best friend and the owner of a bar frequented by mercenaries. *
Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries '' Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...
as
Blind Al Blind Al is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is commonly depicted as a supporting character of the antihero Deadpool. Al (also known as Althea or Blind Alfred) first appeared in ''Deadpool'' ...
:
Deadpool's blind elderly roommate. *
Karan Soni Karan Soni (born January 8, 1989) is an Indian-American actor and comedian. Often appearing in comedic roles, he came to prominence for playing Dopinder in the films ''Deadpool'' (2016) and its sequel ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). Born in New Delhi, ...
as
Dopinder Dagger Dagoth Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange. Daken Dakimh the Enchanter Damballah Daniel Whitehall Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken. An elite assassin and member of the t ...
:
Deadpool's admirer and taxi driver, serving as Deadpool's de facto chauffeur. *
Brianna Hildebrand Brianna Caitlin Hildebrand (born August 14, 1996) is an American actress. She is best known for appearing as Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the films ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). She is also known for appearing in the web series ...
as
Negasonic Teenage Warhead Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Ellie Phimister) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the character first appeared in '' New X-Men'' #115 (2001). She is named after ...
:
A teenage
X-Man Nathaniel Grey (X-Man) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Steve Skroce, the character first appeared in ''X-Man'' ...
with the mutant power to detonate atomic bursts from her body, she is now a "new level of X-Men" after being a trainee in the first film. Hildebrand felt that "it's cool that she's grown and matured and she still has so much of this essence of a punk kid" from the first film, and added that the character would have a "cooler" costume in the sequel. The filmmakers intended to have Hildebrand shave her head to indicate that her abilities burned off her hair, but she was unable to do so due to a television series commitment. The film also reveals that Negasonic is in a same-sex relationship, which is the first openly
LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
relationship depicted in a Marvel film. When Reynolds asked Hildebrand how she felt about the potential storyline during development, the actress—a member of the LGBTQ community herself—responded positively with the stipulation that the film not make "a big deal" about the relationship. In a statement,
GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
President and CEO
Sarah Kate Ellis Sarah Kate Ellis (born November 27, 1971) is an American media executive, journalist, and author, most widely known for launching and turning around media brands within magazines such as ''New York'', ''InStyle'', ''Real Simple'', and '' Vogue''. ...
praised the relationship as "a milestone in a genre that too often renders LGBTQ people invisible, and should send a message to other studios to follow this example of inclusive and smart storytelling". *
Jack Kesy Jack Kesy () is an American actor. On television, he has portrayed Gabriel Bolivar on the FX horror drama '' The Strain'' (2014–2016) and Roller Husser on the TNT dark comedy '' Claws'' (2017–19). He also played Black Tom Cassidy in the M ...
as
Black Tom Cassidy Black Tom Cassidy (Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the X-Men, and of his cousin, Banshee. In addition to fighting the ...
:
A mutant inmate of the facility where Deadpool and Firefist are imprisoned. He was originally written as a more prominent antagonist, acting as a "devil on Firefist's shoulder", but his role was reduced when the writers decided there were too many antagonists in the story and the budget would be better spent on a character such as
Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...
. *
Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has featur ...
as the Headmaster:
The brutal headmaster of the
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...
Home for Mutant Rehabilitation, an orphanage. * Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio:
Negasonic Teenage Warhead's girlfriend and fellow X-Men. A version of Yukio previously appeared in the 2013 film '' The Wolverine'', portrayed by
Rila Fukushima is a Japanese fashion-model and actress best known for her comic book roles in film and TV and has appeared in projects such as the superhero film '' The Wolverine'' (2013) as Yukio, the TV series ''Arrow'' as Tatsu Yamashiro, and ''Ghost in th ...
. *
Stefan Kapičić Stefan Kapičić (; born 1 December 1978) is a Serbian actor best known for his role of Colossus in ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). He is also one of three members of the Council for Film Industry of Montenegro. Early life Kapič ...
as voice of
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...
:
Member of the X-Men with the mutant ability to transform his entire body into organic steel. Kapičić described Colossus as one of the most important characters in the film, requiring a more intense process for Kapičić during recording for the character. He explained that Colossus would continue to try making Deadpool a better person and potential X-Men after doing so in the first film. Unlike the first film, Kapičić also provided performance capture for the character's face on the sequel, while
Andre Tricoteux Andre Tricoteux is a Canadian actor and stuntman, known for playing Colossus in ''Deadpool'' and Orc War Captain in ''Warcraft''. He has done stunt work on many TV and movies such as ''Once Upon a Time'', '' Seventh Son'', and '' See No Evil 2' ...
returned to stand-in for the character on set. * Randal Reeder as Buck:
A huge "biker-type" who hangs out at Weasel's bar, whom Deadpool only allows to have one line. In addition to portraying Deadpool and himself, Reynolds provided the voice for the
Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...
. Juggernaut is credited as being voiced by "himself", and was previously portrayed by
Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, C ...
in the 2006 film '' X-Men: The Last Stand''. According to Reese, the creative team on ''Deadpool 2'' felt that appearance did not do justice to the character. Wanting an additional villain for the film to support Firefist for the final fight with X-Force, the writers chose Juggernaut because he is "a force of nature howas probably the coolest character never to be used ... in the right way". The character's face was modeled on Leitch's, with Reynolds providing facial capture and his voice. The latter was digitally modulated to make it deeper. Reese added that the character "didn't have many lines, he's a man of few words, but he's a man of great anger and forcefulness". Additionally,
Robert Maillet Robert Maillet (born October 26, 1969) is a Canadian actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 1999, where he performed under the ring name Kurrgan and was a member of ...
briefly appears as Sluggo, an inmate of the Ice Box who originally had a more prominent antagonistic role alongside Black Tom before both roles were reduced due to the number of villains in the film; Hayley Sales and Islie Hirvonen respectively appear as Cable's wife and
Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
, their daughter, during a flashforward; and The film's version of the X-Force team also includes
Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords ...
as Bedlam,
Lewis Tan Lewis Singwah Tan (born 4 February 1987) is an English actor and martial artist best known for portraying Lu Xin Lee in Netflix's ''Wu Assassins'', Shatterstar in ''Deadpool 2'' (2018), Gaius Chau in AMC's '' Into the Badlands'' and Cole Youn ...
as
Shatterstar Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) is a fictional mutant superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''The New Mutants'' #99 (March 199 ...
,
Bill Skarsgård Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor, producer, director, writer, voice actor, and model. He is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror films '' It'' (2017) and '' It ...
as
Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...
,
Rob Delaney Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He was the co-star and co-writer of the TV show '' Catastrophe'', and has appeared in comedy films such as ''Deadpool 2'' (2018) and '' Tom & Jerry'' (2021 ...
as Peter, and
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
as
Vanisher Vanisher (Telford Porter) is a fictional character and mutant supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Vanisher's primary ability is teleportation. He is usually depicted as an opponent of the X-Men. The characte ...
. Pitt was considered for the role of Cable before scheduling issues prevented him from taking it; he filmed his Vanisher cameo in two hours during post-production. Reprising their roles as the X-Men for a brief cameo are
James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...
as
Professor X Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
,
Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in both the American and the British film industries ...
as Beast,
Evan Peters Evan Thomas Peters (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his multiple roles on the FX anthology series ''American Horror Story''; as Detective Colin Zabel in the HBO crime drama limited series ''Mare of Easttown'', whic ...
as Quicksilver,
Tye Sheridan Tye Kayle Sheridan (born November 11, 1996) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the reboot ''X-Men'' film series (2016–2019), as well as Wade Watts in '' Ready Player One'' ( ...
as Cyclops,
Alexandra Shipp Alexandra Ruth Shipp is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence for portraying singer Aaliyah in the Lifetime television film '' Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B'' (2014) and Kimberly Woodruff in the Oscar-nominated film ''Straight Ou ...
as
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm ...
, and
Kodi Smit-McPhee Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in ''The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). In 2021, Smit-McPhee garnered critical acclaim for his performance as Pe ...
as Nightcrawler. Archive footage of
Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
as Logan / Wolverine from ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' is used in the mid-credits sequence, with Jackman's permission. This was re-edited for the sequence, and included raw footage shot for that film. Luke Roessler, who portrays a young David Haller in the ''X-Men'' based television series ''
Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
'', appears as a young mutant credited as "Cereal Kid". When Cable travels to the present day, he comes across two "rednecks" discussing a toilet paper manifesto. This was inspired by a real manifesto written by Reese, which the writers wanted to be discussed in the film by a certain "calibre" of actor: the characters are portrayed by
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004 ...
and a disguised
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
, with the latter credited as "Dickie Greenleaf" (a reference to the 1999 film ''
The Talented Mr. Ripley ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen, including ''Purple ...
'' in which Damon stars). Leitch and writers Reese and
Paul Wernick Paul Wernick is a Canadian television/movie screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplays to the 2016 superhero film ''Deadpool'' and its 2018 sequel with his creative partner Rhett Reese. Career Early career Wernick h ...
respectively cameo as Ice Box inmate "Ground Chuck Mutant", a news helicopter pilot, and a news cameraman.
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
was unable to cameo in the sequel, as he did in the first film and the short '' No Good Deed'', but his likeness was used for a bust in the X-Mansion and for graffiti on a wall.


Production


Development

Producer
Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and ''Sherlock Holmes''. He ...
revealed in September 2015 that discussions had begun regarding ideas for a sequel to ''
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
'', which was set to be released in February 2016. One idea was for the film to introduce the character Cable, who had previously been looked at to appear in the first ''Deadpool'' and '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'' (2014) before that. Cable's inclusion in the potential sequel was confirmed by the character Deadpool while breaking the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
in the
post-credit scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
of the first film.
Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
, a character with connections to Cable in the comics, was also believed to be featured in the sequel. By the first film's release,
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
had green-lit a sequel, with writers
Rhett Reese Rhett Reese is an American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, his early credits included ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' and '' Cruel Intentions 3''. He has collaborated with Paul Wernick, writing the films ...
and
Paul Wernick Paul Wernick is a Canadian television/movie screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplays to the 2016 superhero film ''Deadpool'' and its 2018 sequel with his creative partner Rhett Reese. Career Early career Wernick h ...
returning to write the screenplay. Though director Tim Miller and producer/star
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over  billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
were not confirmed for the sequel at the time, Fox was "intent on keeping the creative team together". Miller and Reynolds' involvement was confirmed at the 2016 CinemaCon that April, though Miller had still not formally signed on to direct the sequel. He began work developing the script with the writers, while Reynolds had signed a new contract granting him "casting approval and other creative controls". In June 2016, Kinberg expected filming to begin at the beginning of 2017. By August,
Kyle Chandler Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut in a 1988 television film, '' Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story'', Chandler's first regular television role was in the ABC drama '' Hom ...
was believed to be in the running to portray Cable. After being mentioned in the post credits of the first film,
Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lun ...
expressed interest in playing the role. He took to his social media to share concept imagery created by poster artist Justin Paul. Testing of actresses for Domino had also begun by October, with the shortlist of actresses under consideration including
Lizzy Caplan Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...
,
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in series such as '' Tru Calling ...
,
Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian '' Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli ca ...
,
Sofia Boutella Sofia Boutella ( ar, صوفيا بوتلة; born 3 April 1982) is an Algerian actress, model, and dancer. Early life Boutella was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers, Algeria, to an architect mother and a jazz musician father, Safy Bout ...
,
Stephanie Sigman Stephanie Sigman is a Mexican-American actress. Her breakthrough role was in the 2011 Mexican crime drama film '' Miss Bala''. She has gone on to appear in ''Pioneer'' (2013), ''Spectre'' (2015), '' Going Under'' (2016), and '' Annabelle: Creati ...
,
Sylvia Hoeks Sylvia Hoeks (; born 1 June 1983) is a Dutch actress and former model, best known internationally for her roles in ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017) and ''The Girl in the Spider's Web'' (2018). Early life and education Hoeks was raised in Maarheeze, ...
, Mackenzie Davis,
Ruby Rose Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986) is an Australian model, actress, disc jockey and television presenter. Rose was a presenter on MTV Australia (2007–2011), followed by several high-profile modelling gigs, including Maybelline New York ...
,
Eve Hewson Eve Hewson (born Memphis Eve Sunny Day Iris Hewson; 7 July 1991) is an Irish actress, whose father is the singer Bono. Her first major role was in the 2011 drama film '' This Must Be the Place'', and she made her television debut as Nurse Lucy E ...
, and Kelly Rohrbach. The producers were particularly interested in casting a black or Latina actress in the role. At the end of October, Miller left the film over "mutual creative differences" with Reynolds, reportedly based on several factors, including Reynolds' expanded creative control over the sequel; Miller's wish for a more stylized follow-up than the first film, versus Reynolds' focus "on the raunchy comedy style that earned the first movie its R rating"; and Miller's intention to cast Chandler as Cable, which Reynolds opposed. Fox ultimately backed "its marketable star" over Miller, who had made his
directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
with the first film. Miller denied this report, while Reynolds said he could only add that "I'm sad to see him off the film. Tim's brilliant and nobody worked harder on ''Deadpool'' than he did." Miller's plans for the film included introducing the young mutant
Rusty Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rusty Anderson (born 195 ...
and a comic book accurate portrayal of Cable, having Vanessa embrace her Copycat persona from the comics, and featuring a fight between
Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...
and The Thing. The latter is a member of the
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...
, and the studio had approved crossing the character over from that franchise before Miller's exit. A week after Miller's departure, Fox was looking at
David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film '' John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...
,
Drew Goddard Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American filmmaker. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', '' Alias'', and '' Lost''. After moving into screenwriting in ...
, Magnus Martens, and
Rupert Sanders Rupert Miles Sanders (born 16 March 1971) is an English film director. He has directed the movies ''Snow White and the Huntsman'' (2012) and ''Ghost in the Shell'' (2017). In 2021, he directed the pilot episode of the Apple TV+ science fiction s ...
as potential replacements for the director. Leitch was the "strong frontrunner" for the role, and signed on a month later. Reynolds, a fan of Leitch's ''
John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American action thriller media franchise created by Derek Kolstad and centering around John Wick, a former hitman who is forced back into the criminal underworld he had abandoned. The franchise began with the release of ' ...
'', said the director "really understands those ''Deadpool'' sensibilities and where we need to take the franchise", and "can make a movie on an ultra tight minimal budget look like it was shot for 10–15 times what it cost".


Writing

The first completed draft from Wernick and Reese was expected around June 2016; multiple had been completed by January 2017. The pair felt a responsibility to explore the team
X-Force X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 ( ...
, which includes Deadpool, Cable, and Domino in the comics, but to also keep the film focused on Deadpool. By the next month, the studio was still not happy with the script, with Reynolds and the writers "bunkered down ... trying to cross the finish line and create something everyone is excited to make". Goddard joined them as a consultant. Reese, Wernick, and Reynolds were credited for the script, the three having split the film's scenes between them before passing them around to be re-written by the others. Reese felt they were able to maintain "one voice" because of their long history with the character during development on the first film. ''Deadpool 2'' is set "more or less" when the first film ends, and focuses on "an existential crisis and a deeply personal cause" for Deadpool. Leitch felt that retaining these personal stakes was more compelling for audiences than trying to build the film around global stakes. The writers felt that the sequel was tonally similar to the first film, but wanted to explore a different theme by focusing on a group of individuals (X-Force) and their need for family, with Reynolds explaining that "the first movie is a love story masquerading as a comic-book movie, and this one is kind of a family film masquerading as a comic-book film again." Deadpool spends around half of the film unmasked, which the writers wanted for exploring the more emotional scenes, though Reynolds was reluctant to do this because he found the make-up required to portray an unmasked Deadpool "time consuming and really uncomfortable". An early idea was to have the film begin five years after the first and explore Deadpool being a father, but the writers quickly decided that this was "never, ever going to work" and reworked the idea to explore the character wanting to have a child but being unable to. Earlier versions of the script included prominent roles for the characters
Black Tom Cassidy Black Tom Cassidy (Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the X-Men, and of his cousin, Banshee. In addition to fighting the ...
and Sluggo, but they ultimately had a supporting role and a brief appearance, respectively. The villain Mr. X was also included in early drafts, but was cut due to the number of villains already in the film. The mutant inmates of the Ice Box were going to be explored more by having Cable breaking into the prison cause their power dampening collars to malfunction. This was removed from the script due to it not being feasible within the film's budget. Leitch fought to include more aspects of Cable's backstory in the film after the writers chose to mostly ignore it due to it being convoluted; a painting of Cyclops which would have acknowledged that character as Cable's father was ultimately cut, but the
Techno-Organic Virus A techno-organic virus (T-O virus) is a fictional virus appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In the comics, the T-O virus transforms organic material into techno-organic material, which resembles both machinery and living t ...
that Cable is inflicted with and his daughter
Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...
are depicted. The film features contradictory connections to the various films of the franchise, which Leitch acknowledged as confusing but said that the issue had not really been discussed during development since the ''Deadpool'' films are considered their own "entity" in a way, and the character of Deadpool allows them to be "flexible with the timeline, per se". Reese and Wernick preferred to use jokes in the film that only certain members of the audience would understand, though Reynolds would not allow some to be used if he thought not enough people would enjoy them (including a reference to golfer
Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in th ...
). Following the announcement of the
proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and t ...
in December 2017, the film includes several Disney related jokes including a
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
about the Disney film '' Frozen'' (2013). However, Fox did make the producers remove a joke from the film that directly acknowledged the deal, which Reynolds said "was a wise decision". Other cut jokes included many "bizarre" characters interviewing to join the X-Force, such as an idea to have Chris Evans reprise his role as the
Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a si ...
from
Tim Story Timothy Kevin Story (born March 13, 1970) is an African American film director. He is best known for '' Barbershop'' (2002), the ''Fantastic Four'' (2005) and the ''Ride Along'' franchise. He has been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards for Ou ...
's ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...
'' films.


Pre-production

Reese and Wernick confirmed in January 2017 that
Stefan Kapičić Stefan Kapičić (; born 1 December 1978) is a Serbian actor best known for his role of Colossus in ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). He is also one of three members of the Council for Film Industry of Montenegro. Early life Kapič ...
's
Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...
,
Brianna Hildebrand Brianna Caitlin Hildebrand (born August 14, 1996) is an American actress. She is best known for appearing as Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the films ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). She is also known for appearing in the web series ...
's
Negasonic Teenage Warhead Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Ellie Phimister) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, the character first appeared in '' New X-Men'' #115 (2001). She is named after ...
, and
Karan Soni Karan Soni (born January 8, 1989) is an Indian-American actor and comedian. Often appearing in comedic roles, he came to prominence for playing Dopinder in the films ''Deadpool'' (2016) and its sequel ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). Born in New Delhi, ...
's Dopinder would be returning from the first film to "make at least an appearance". By the beginning of March 2017,
Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...
had been in the running to portray Cable, but no longer could due to a scheduling conflict.
David Harbour David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as ''Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), ''Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), '' The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End of ...
had screen-tested for the role, and
Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
was believed to be in negotiations for a part in the film, potentially Cable. Reynolds announced shortly after that Zazie Beetz had been cast as Domino. Shannon was in the running to portray Cable again later in the month, and was considered the frontrunner ahead of a shortlist that also included Harbour.
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
was also considered for the role, but had "moved on". Leitch soon addressed the potential casting of these actors, saying Shannon "would make an incredible Cable ... If that happens, I would be through the roof"; and on Pitt, "We had a great meeting with Brad, he was incredibly interested in the property. Things didn't work out schedule-wise utI think he would've made an amazing Cable".
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Aaron Perry Taylor-Johnson ( né Johnson; born 13 June 1990) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in '' Kick-Ass'' (2010) and its 2013 sequel, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character Pietro M ...
was also approached by Leitch to appear in the film, even meeting together to discuss a role, but Taylor-Johnson declined it; Leitch and Taylor-Johnson would later go to collaborate in Leitch's '' Bullet Train'' (2022). At the end of March,
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born 2 June 1979) is a Brazilian actress known for portraying Inara Serra in the sci-fi series ''Firefly'' and its follow-up film ''Serenity'', Vanessa in the superhero comedy franchise ''Deadpool'', Jess ...
confirmed her return from the first film as Vanessa, and expressed interest in exploring the character's Copycat persona from the comics in the sequel.
Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangst ...
emerged as a "surprise contender" to play Cable in April, ahead of Shannon and Harbour, and was officially cast in the role. Brolin also portrays the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
character
Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant warl ...
, in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Ma ...
. Also in April,
Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries '' Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...
confirmed that she would be reprising her role of
Blind Al Blind Al is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is commonly depicted as a supporting character of the antihero Deadpool. Al (also known as Althea or Blind Alfred) first appeared in ''Deadpool'' ...
from the first film, while Fox gave the sequel a June 1, 2018 release date. Noting the release date, Leitch wanted to ensure that the film "was worthy of a summer tentpole movie, and we knew we were going to be wedged in between some big films", specifically wanting to expand the action and make the general feeling of the film "bigger" than the first one. However, he wanted the film to have the same DNA as the original "in terms of the tone, and the fun ... I love that challenge" of combining that with the increased scope. The film uses Deadpool's fourth wall-breaking to reference this release period, with Leitch calling these comments "definitely fresh and timely when they come up". In May 2017, Fox was reportedly looking to use a post-credits scene at the end of ''Deadpool 2'' to introduce several other members of X-Force who would go on to star alongside Reynolds, Brolin, and Beetz in an ''X-Force'' film. Casting for the characters—
Sunspot Sunspots are solar phenomena, phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibi ...
,
Feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
, and
Shatterstar Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) is a fictional mutant superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''The New Mutants'' #99 (March 199 ...
—would take place over the coming months, though Reese denied the accuracy of this report. Later, T.J. Miller confirmed that he would return from the first film as
Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodi ...
, and described the sequel as "even more weaselicious" than the first. He noted that Reynolds and the writers had "really put the time in on the script" to meet their own expectations for the sequel as well as those of fans.
Jack Kesy Jack Kesy () is an American actor. On television, he has portrayed Gabriel Bolivar on the FX horror drama '' The Strain'' (2014–2016) and Roller Husser on the TNT dark comedy '' Claws'' (2017–19). He also played Black Tom Cassidy in the M ...
also joined the cast, as
Black Tom Cassidy Black Tom Cassidy (Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the X-Men, and of his cousin, Banshee. In addition to fighting the ...
. In June, Shioli Kutsuna was cast in a key role for the film, Negasonic Teenage Warhead's girlfriend Yukio. The writers felt free to use the character in whatever way the film needed due to her having only a minor role in the comics.


Filming

Initial filming had begun by June 17, 2017, at
Hatley Castle Hatley Park National Historic Site is located in Colwood, British Columbia, in Greater Victoria. It is the site of Hatley Castle, a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Since 1995, the mansion and estate have been used for the public Royal R ...
in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...
, Canada, which is used to portray the
X-Mansion The X-Mansion or Xavier Institute is the common name for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier, a character in X-M ...
in the ''X-Men'' films.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as acto ...
began in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. T ...
, on June 26, under the
working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''Love Machine''. The East Lawn building of Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam served as the location for the initial and final battle sequences. Jonathan Sela served as cinematographer for the film. At the end of June, Reynolds revealed that Julian Dennison had been cast in the film. The next month, T.J. Miller said that he found the sequel to be funnier than the first film, and that "it's not going to be the same movie in a different location ike_''
ike_''The_Hangover_Part_II''">The_Hangover_Part_II.html"_;"title="ike_''The_Hangover_Part_II">ike_''The_Hangover_Part_II''_It's_got_different_stakes,_different_things_happen,_some_pretty_tragic,_dark_shit_happens_in_the_first_part_of_the_film,_in_the_beginning,_and_the_rest_of_the_film_is_kind_of_dealing_with_that."_By_then,_Kapičić_had_been_working_with_Leitch_on_set,_and_expected_to_continue_contributing_to_Colossus_through_to_April_2018._Production_on_the_''X-Men''_film_''Dark_Phoenix_(film).html" "title="The_Hangover_Part_II''.html" ;"title="The_Hangover_Part_II.html" ;"title="ike ''The Hangover Part II">ike ''The Hangover Part II''">The_Hangover_Part_II.html" ;"title="ike ''The Hangover Part II">ike ''The Hangover Part II'' It's got different stakes, different things happen, some pretty tragic, dark shit happens in the first part of the film, in the beginning, and the rest of the film is kind of dealing with that." By then, Kapičić had been working with Leitch on set, and expected to continue contributing to Colossus through to April 2018. Production on the ''X-Men'' film ''Dark Phoenix (film)">Dark Phoenix "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics, focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. It was written by Chris Claremont with art by John Byrne. The Dark Phoenix Saga commonly refers to the s ...
'' was taking place in Montreal concurrently with the filming of ''Deadpool 2'', with Kinberg directing that film. He directed a brief moment where the X-Men are seen through an open door in the X-Mansion, which was added to ''Deadpool 2'' with the aid of green screen to allow those characters to appear in this film. Leitch worked closely with Sela, the pair having previously collaborated on Leitch's earlier films, to acknowledge the aesthetic of the first film while expanding the look of the sequel to match the new situations and characters introduced. The pair created specific shot lists and plans for blocking out scenes before they arrived on set, and were very particular about the colors they used; they planned the color palette of the entire film, and also produced color wheels detailing specific palettes for each set piece. These color wheels were sometimes adjusted several days into the filming of a sequence after
digital intermediate Digital intermediate (typically abbreviated DI) is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. Definition and overview A digital intermediate ...
work revealed a different look than Leitch and Sela had been anticipating. Elements that were carried over from the first film included the "moodiness" and saturation of scenes set in Deadpool's apartment, and the contrast with blacks in action sequences, while Cable's future had a new aesthetic unlike anything in the first film. Another example of these color wheels was the sequence in which Firefist is introduced, with Leitch taking advantage of the scene being set during day to overemphasize the lighting and create a general sepia/orange tone that represented the fire abilities the character displays. This aesthetic met the storytelling needs of the scene as well as the practicalities of the filmmaking process. Because the film was shot digitally, Sela worked with Vantage Film to develop custom lenses that created the "texture and flavor" he wanted for it where he otherwise would have manipulated the exposure and development of film stock to achieve the same effect. On August 14, stunt woman Joi "SJ" Harris died in a motorcycle accident after losing control and crashing into Shaw Tower. Harris was working on the film as a stunt performer for the first time and had only joined the production a week before. Harris was not wearing a helmet because the character she was portraying, Domino, does not wear one in the scene, and there had not been time since she joined the film to create one for her to fit underneath the Domino wig. She had two full days of rehearsing the stunt as well as five more attempts on the day of the accident. Veteran stunt double Melissa Stubbs had been available and willing to do the stunt, but the inexperienced Harris was preferred due to her skin color being a match for Beetz. This decision was criticized by multiple stunt professionals, with many noting that Harris' experiences racing motorcycles did not necessarily qualify her as an able stunt performer. Production was shut down immediately after the incident, but resumed two days later. With this news also came reports that the film's crew were "enduring very long hours" and were "exhausted by the schedule", with the studio confirming that some days had increased from the scheduled 12–13 hours filming to over 15 hours. The film's credits includes a dedication to the stuntwoman that reads "In memory of Sequana Harris". Earlier in August, Reynolds revealed that
Rob Delaney Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He was the co-star and co-writer of the TV show '' Catastrophe'', and has appeared in comedy films such as ''Deadpool 2'' (2018) and '' Tom & Jerry'' (2021 ...
was at the film's set, and
Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has featur ...
revealed later in the month that he was also on set for a role in the film. Filming in Vancouver was expected to last until October 6, with production on ''Deadpool 2'' being officially completed on October 14. Discussing the film's action, having previously worked as a stunt coordinator, Leitch said that all stunts are "variations on a theme" with the same basic elements, but Deadpool allows you to "subvert those basics, and there's an expectation for a classic gag, but oops, maybe you get something else". He also felt that introducing Domino gave the film unique opportunities for action sequences taking advantage of her luck-based abilities, as well as focusing on Deadpool's healing abilities and trying to use those interestingly. Darrin Prescott served as second-unit director on the film, and Jonathan Eusebio was the stunt-coordinator for the film, both having worked on ''John Wick'' previously. Domino's abilities were envisioned as a
Rube Goldberg machine A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction-type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machi ...
"on steroids", while Deadpool allowing his arm to be broken during a fight was an example of his abilities being used. Unlike the first film, for which Fox was unwilling to pay for the writers to be on set, the studio did pay for Reese and Wernick to be on set for the sequel. Leitch was happy for this to happen, Reynolds wanted them to be there, and it allowed the pair to continue contributing to the script and suggest new jokes and ideas throughout the filming process. Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects was hired to supply a
CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, ...
(s/n 90-00204) in the film. Scroggins made modification to the CH-47 and worked with SFX to rig it to a motion base (Gimbal), It would be the first time a real Chinook was placed on a motion base in a motion picture.


Post-production

Fox revealed in November that the film was technically untitled at that point, and not officially known as ''Deadpool 2'' as had been assumed; the studio was temporarily referring to the film as ''The Untitled Deadpool Sequel''. Sexual misconduct allegations against T.J. Miller surfaced a month later, and by January 2018 some commentators had called for Miller to be replaced in the film in a similar manner to how
Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...
was replaced by
Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
through reshoots in ''
All the Money in the World ''All the Money in the World'' is a 2017 biographical crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa. Based on John Pearson's 1995 book ''Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul ...
'' (2017). Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director Richard Donner. Her films have g ...
addressed whether this would be possible, saying "We're in the final editing. I don't think so." Miller was later arrested for calling in a false bomb threat; Reynolds would not comment on either issue, but stated that Miller would not be appearing in the ''
X-Force X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 ( ...
'' film. Also in January, the film's release was moved up to May 18, 2018. In February 2018,
Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords ...
was revealed to have a role in the film, the character Shatterstar was confirmed to be appearing, and the production returned to Vancouver for six days of reshoots under a new working title, ''Daisy''. Some reports emerged by mid-March claiming that these reshoots were due to poor audience responses during test screenings of the film, and consisted of sweeping changes. However, the film was soon confirmed to be testing better than the original did, up to 98 out of 100 over three different tests (compared to a maximum score of 91 during tests of the first film). Because of this, the reshoots were adding more of the elements that audiences responded positively to, including additional material featuring Cable and Domino.
Sam Hargrave Sam Hargrave is an American stunt coordinator, stuntman, actor and director. He is best known for his collaborations with the Russo brothers, including being the stunt coordinator for several films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The pair also w ...
joined the film as a stunt coordinator for the reshoots, trying to "breathe some new life in a couple of sequences". He highlighted a car chase which combines vehicles, actors, and green screen. By the end of the month, Pitt filmed a secret cameo appearance as the ''X-Force'' team member
Vanisher Vanisher (Telford Porter) is a fictional character and mutant supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Vanisher's primary ability is teleportation. He is usually depicted as an opponent of the X-Men. The characte ...
during two hours of filming in Los Angeles, having been asked to shoot the part by Reynolds and agreeing to be paid "scale", which Reese described as the equivalent of a
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
coffee. This was the final photography work done for the film. The film's first full trailer officially titled the film ''Deadpool 2'', and revealed that Crews was portraying Bedlam; confirmed that Delaney would appear, portraying Peter; and that
Bill Skarsgård Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor, producer, director, writer, voice actor, and model. He is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror films '' It'' (2017) and '' It ...
also had a role. The film's final trailer, released a month later, confirmed that
Lewis Tan Lewis Singwah Tan (born 4 February 1987) is an English actor and martial artist best known for portraying Lu Xin Lee in Netflix's ''Wu Assassins'', Shatterstar in ''Deadpool 2'' (2018), Gaius Chau in AMC's '' Into the Badlands'' and Cole Youn ...
would portray Shatterstar, joining Domino, Bedlam, and Peter as members of ''X-Force''. The group also includes Skarsgård's character, revealed to be
Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...
. One scene that was cut from the film following test screenings was a
post-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
featuring Deadpool travelling back in time to kill a baby
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
. It was decided that the scene made audiences too "squeamish", which was not the feeling that the creative team wanted people to be leaving the film with. The film originally did not have any post- or mid- credits scenes, with the Hitler scene and the film's other time-traveling mid-credits scenes shot during additional photography. The latter came about when someone suggested the time travel device be used to fix real-world mistakes like Reynolds' role in ''Green Lantern'' which the writers felt was "the funniest idea ever, and what a great idea to end the movie". Additional footage of the X-Force team was shot for the film's marketing to hide the fact that the majority of the X-Force are immediately killed as a joke in the film. Due to Deadpool's mask, the creative team was able to change the character's dialogue up to the film being officially completed; Reynolds took this opportunity to keep adding new jokes to the film as long as possible. Visual effects for the characters of Colossus and Juggernaut were provided by
Framestore Framestore is a British animation, visual effects company and creative studio based on Chancery Lane in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired (and subsequently merged with) the Computer Film Company in 1997. It works on feature films and tele ...
. The model for Colossus was altered from the first film to make him more "chiseled and angular", and his movements were based on motion capture performed by
Andre Tricoteux Andre Tricoteux is a Canadian actor and stuntman, known for playing Colossus in ''Deadpool'' and Orc War Captain in ''Warcraft''. He has done stunt work on many TV and movies such as ''Once Upon a Time'', '' Seventh Son'', and '' See No Evil 2' ...
on set. Tricoteux wore several metallic pieces, including a helmet and chest piece, as reference. Kapičić provided the character's facial performance. The character's "iconic metal ridges" were live textured by animators for the first film, but Framestore changed this to use a combination of shape movement and distortion so they could be more precise with the geometry of the lines. Juggernaut was represented on set by a stand-in, who wore a helmet extension to match the character's height. A full-scale replica of the character's metal helmet was built for interacting with stunts on set, but the final version was completely digital along with the rest of the character. Framestore animators found it challenging to move the helmet in a way that the character could still move his head underneath it, and studied the movement of bodybuilders for the character. Juggernaut's face was modeled on Leitch's, and Reynolds provided facial capture for the character, but this was modified during the animation process. For the final fight between the two characters, two stuntmen who matched the height difference between the two were filmed on a motion capture stage for reference; this footage was edited into a
previsualization Previsualization (also known as previsualisation, previs, previz, pre-rendering, preview or wireframe windows) is the visualizing of scenes or sequences in a movie, prior to filming. It is also a concept in various creative practices, including an ...
. Other VFX companies like
DNEG DNEG (formerly known as Double Negative) is a British visual effects, computer animation, and stereo conversion studio that was founded in 1998 in London, and rebranded as DNEG in 2014 after a merger with Indian VFX company Prime Focus. The ...
,
Method Studios Method Studios is a visual effects company launched in 1999 in Los Angeles, California with facilities in New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, San Francisco, Melbourne, Montreal, and Pune. The company provides production and post-production services in ...
and Weta Digital contributed to the film with supervision by Mike Brazelton, Stephen Naze, Sean Konrad, Dan Macarin, and Dan Glass.


Music

Junkie XL Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing ...
chose not to return for ''Deadpool 2'' after composing the score for the first film, given that Miller was "the driving force behind" him working on that film in the first place. In October 2017, it was confirmed that
Tyler Bates Tyler Bates (born June 5, 1965) is an American musician, producer, and composer for film, television, and video game scores. Much of his work is in the action and horror film genres, with films like '' Dawn of the Dead, 300, Sucker Punch, Hal ...
would be writing the score for ''Deadpool 2'' after doing the same for Leitch's previous films. Bates approached the music with a slight
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
sensibility, and used a distorted guitar run through a
wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...
, microsynths to add "unique colors", and a choir. The choir originally sings lyrics such as "you can't stop this motherfucker" and "holy shit balls!", which ultimately earned the score a parental advisory warning. It is the first score album to receive such a warning. Bates felt this was not "merit-less debauchery, it was just fun. It's very rare that we can work on something at such a high professional level that embraces the irreverence of Deadpool." Leitch wanted to create an original song for the film that served as an emotional through-line for all of the film's characters; the song "
Ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...
" was ultimately produced, as recorded by
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
. Leitch directed a music video to go with the release of the song, and Reynolds both wanted to produce a music video to accompany the song; Leitch was initially conflicted about this, as he wanted audiences to discover the song, which was filmed in
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a theater located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theater is the main entertainment venue for Caesars Palace. Deemed the ''Home of the Greatest Entertainers in the World'', the theater has hosted ...
. It features dancer
Yanis Marshall Yanis Marshall (born 11 November 1989) is a French dancer and choreographer. He was born in Grasse, France. He specializes in a style of dance choreography in which dancers of all genders wear high-heeled shoes. Career In 2014, he auditioned f ...
performing as Deadpool in high heels while Dion sings the song. The song was released as a single with the music video on May 3, 2018, before
Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...
released a score album on May 11, and Columbia Records released an album featuring the songs from the film—including "Ashes"—on May 18.


Marketing

For the Fox presentation at CineEurope 2017 in June, Reynolds made a video message featuring himself in costume as Deadpool from the film's set. The first teaser poster, which pays homage to
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the ...
's 1943 painting ''
Freedom from Want The right to an adequate standard of living is a fundamental human right. It is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was accepted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948.United Nations''Universal Decl ...
'', was released that November. Justin Carter of Comic Book Resources found it "oddly appropriate for ''Deadpool 2'' to co-opt
his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...
iconic work for a modern pop culture audience" as it is "true to Deadpool's incredibly referential nature". Eric Diaz of
Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...
said, "It strikes exactly the irreverent tone you'd expect for the ''Deadpool'' sequel." The first footage from the film debuted the following week, at the end of a video where Reynolds (in-character as Deadpool) parodies
Bob Ross Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of ''The Joy of Painting'', an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on ...
and his television show ''
The Joy of Painting ''The Joy of Painting'' is an American half-hour instructional television show created and hosted by painter Bob Ross which ran from January 11, 1983 to May 17, 1994. In most episodes, Ross taught techniques for landscape oil painting, completi ...
''. The video was described by ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
''s Ryan Parker as "completely out of left field" and setting the tone perfectly for the film, though his colleague Graeme McMillan was less positive due to not knowing of Ross (''Deadpool'' co-creator
Fabian Nicieza Fabian Nicieza (born December 31, 1961) is an Argentine-American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as ''X-Men'', ''X-Force'', ''New Warriors'', ''Nomad'', '' Cable'', ''Deadpool'' and '' Thunderbol ...
thought the fact that many in the audience wouldn't know of Ross made the video "exactly the kind of quirky pop culture choice that works perfectly for ''Deadpool''"). Parker added, "This trailer only showed a few seconds from the film, but fans will be talking about it all day" because of the presentation, unlike "any other trailer which would have shown so little of the product". Rather than pay for an expensive advertisement spot during
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Confere ...
, the film's official
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...
account was used to "live tweet" the event with in-character commentary from Deadpool. A new trailer for the film was released later that week, focusing on introducing Cable. Parker felt that "Reynolds and company have completely changed the trailer game. The formula of just showing some of the actual movie, but with a tiny story thrown in is such an incredible marketing idea." McMillan and their colleague Aaron Couch praised the trailer playing on the visual effects for Cable's arm not being finished, noting it as a joke about the visual effects to remove
Henry Cavill Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Ger ...
's mustache from ''
Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
''. The group collectively praised the overall marketing for the franchise, with McMillan suggesting that the campaign for the sequel may surpass that of the first ''Deadpool''. A full trailer for the film, explaining its general plot, was released at the end of March. ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also rep ...
'' contributor Scott Mendelson called it "pretty funny and mostly entertaining", but was disappointed in it being a "conventional" trailer compared to the more out-there videos previously released for the film. He explained that he thought the first film "had a winning lead character and fine character-centric jokes, but a pretty generic origin story plot that eventually became the thing it was critiquing", and was concerned that the sequel would turn out to be "a more standard 'superhero sequel' sell". Mendelson also noted the inclusion of T.J. Miller in the trailer following the reveal of sexual misconduct allegations against the actor in late 2017, calling it "inevitable no matter how tarnished his reputation might be these days". The ''Hollywood Reporter'' group also noted the more traditional style of the trailer, but remained generally positive about the film and highlighted the supporting cast for the film as appearing in the trailer, including Brolin, Beetz, Kutsuna, and Crews. Also in March, a Twitter account was established for the character Peter and began to be regularly updated with tweets about his interests, including photos of the character
beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
and preparing for his role in the ''X-Force'' team (as seen in the film). A month later, Fox released the final trailer for the film, with Mendelson lamenting that it was as "conventional" as the previous trailer but finding it understandable that Fox not be seen to be hiding the film, and ultimately felt that the trailer indicated the film would be "a pretty solid comic book sequel". The group at ''The Hollywood Reporter'' praised the final trailer as well, highlighting its references to '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' and the
DC universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern, ...
as well as its introduction of Peter. At the end of April, Leitch stated that alternate versions of jokes that had been cut from the film were included in the trailers, since "only one can live in the movie, so we might have snuck a couple in sort of additional materials that people can discover." As part of a promotion for the film with beverage company Mike's Harder, the Sister Margaret's School for Wayward Girls fictional bar from the film was emulated in pop-ups at the Alligator Lounge in New York from April 26 through 28, and the Slipper Clutch in Los Angeles from May 10 through 12. The pop-ups respectively served pizza and
chimichanga A chimichanga (; ) is a deep-fried burrito that is common in Tex-Mex and other Southwestern U.S. cuisine. The dish is typically prepared by filling a flour tortilla with various ingredients, most commonly rice, cheese, beans, and a meat such as ...
s, traditionally Deadpool's favorite food, as well as ''Deadpool''-inspired Harder drinks. The campaign also included the chance to win a trip to the film's premiere through Harder, and the Los Angeles pop-up benefited the nonprofit DTLA Film Festival. All-in-all, the studio spent $135 million on promotions and advertisements for the film.


Release


Theatrical


Initial

''Deadpool 2'' premiered at
Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
on May 10, 2018. It was released in the United States on May 18, 2018, having been previously scheduled for release on June 1 of that year.


Extended

Leitch's initial cut of the film was around two hours and twelve minutes, with "nips and tucks" done to it to get the run time down to the final two hours. By May 2018, Leitch was working on an official extended edition of the film with Fox wanting to "spin that out as a special thing". He said it would be closer to his initial runtime and would include a cut montage of Deadpool trying to commit suicide in various ways, an extended sequence in the X-Mansion, and alternate versions of jokes that were not chosen for the film's theatrical version. The extended cut, known as ''The Super Duper Cut'' or ''The Super Duper $@%!#& Cut'' was screened at
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
2018 at an event titled ''Deadpool 2: Uncut Screening''. Ahead of the screening, a panel was held at the convention moderated by Soni and featuring other cast members. Some of the scenes cut from the theatrical version of the film were debuted at the panel. ''The Super Duper Cut'' also changed and added some post-credits scenes, including Deadpool preventing Peter's death, referencing Wolverine's death in ''Logan'', and extending the "Baby Hitler" post-credit scene from the theatrical release. ''The Super Duper Cut'' received mixed reviews from critics, who said that the extended version did not add sufficient new material to the film, and that viewers were likely to retain their same opinions from the film's theatrical release. Mike Sorrentino from
CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and telev ...
noted that many of the new jokes in the extended cut were not as good as the original material, and that one of his favorite jokes was edited out.


''Once Upon a Deadpool''

At the end of September 2018, Fox announced that it would release an untitled ''Deadpool'' film in theaters on December 21 in place of '' Alita: Battle Angel'', which was moved to February 2019. The studio suggested that press and fans "guess away" as to what this new film would be, but it was believed to be a re-cut version of ''Deadpool 2'' that would carry a PG-13 rating rather than being R-rated like the initial theatrical release. Reynolds hinted that the version of the film would feature Deadpool telling the story of the film to
Fred Savage Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series ''The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such as ...
, parodying '' The Princess Bride'' (1987) (also a 20th Century Fox film) in which a young Savage was told a bedtime story by
Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series '' Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which h ...
who avoided "the scary parts that were a bit too adult for the youngster". Reese and Wernick revealed in October that the idea for the new version of the film was raised by Reynolds during a general discussion about the character following the film's initial release, and that Reynolds also suggested the
framing device Framing may refer to: * Framing (construction), common carpentry work * Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime * Framing (social sciences) * Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the focu ...
for the story. Reese and Wernick wrote new scenes for the new version, and Leitch returned to direct them during a single day in August. Wernick said the version would not just be for children who were unable to watch the R-rated release, as "it's subversive enough and fun and creative and something that only ''Deadpool'' could do. So I think it's going to be a real joy for not only a whole new audience, but also an audience that has seen and loved the ''Deadpool'' movies." They added that the film's story would not change "appreciably" between versions. The majority of the version is the same as the theatrical release, but edited to "meet PG-13 thresholds of violence and language". Despite the edits, the
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...
rated ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' with a 15 certificate, the same as had been given to the original release of ''Deadpool 2''. Fox officially announced ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' in November, and changed the release schedule to run from December 12 to 24. The studio considered the release to be a chance of a "Christmas bonus", and it also had the potential to be released in China unlike the R-rated version. After spending the entire development process of both ''Deadpool'' and ''Deadpool 2'' insisting to Fox that the films must be R-rated, Reynolds only agreed to support a PG-13 version of the film if a portion of the release's profit went to charity; Fox agreed to donate $1 for every ticket purchased for the film to the Fuck Cancer charity campaign, which would be temporarily renamed "Fudge Cancer" for the fundraising tie-in. At the end of November, writer and artist Michael Vincent Bramley noted that he had pitched the exact framing device that was being used for this version of the film to Reynolds on Twitter in December 2017. Within a day, Bramley had been contacted by Reynolds to discuss the issue and said, "It seems like this may all just have been a big, insane coincidence and I'm happy to leave it at that." ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, this version of the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Once Upon a Deadpool'' retains enough of the franchise's anarchic spirit to entertain, but doesn't add enough to ''Deadpool 2'' to justify its own existence." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...
reported filmgoers gave it a 77% overall positive score and a 53% "definite recommend".


Home media

''Deadpool 2'' was released digitally on August 7, 2018, and physically on August 21. The latter release covered the
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Blu ...
,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of stori ...
, and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
formats, including both the theatrical version and ''Super Duper $@%!#& Cut'' unrated extended edition. The physical release includes an audio commentary for the theatrical version in 4K and Blu-ray formats, from Reynolds, Leitch, Reese, and Wernick. The Blu-ray format also includes a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, alternate takes, featurettes on Easter eggs, the cast and characters, Leitch's directing, and the action and stunts, and more. ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' was released on digital and on a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, but was not given a standalone DVD release, on January 15, 2019, with Fox giving $1 for every purchase or digital rental of ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' between January 1 and 28 to Fuck Cancer. The film became available to stream on
Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
on July 22, 2022, alongside ''
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadpo ...
'' and '' Logan''.


Box office

''Deadpool 2'' grossed $324.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $460.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $785.8 million, against a production budget of $110 million. ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...
'' calculated the net profit of the film to be $235.4 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the seventh most profitable release of 2018. On April 20, 2018, both
Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has a ...
and
Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens ...
announced that ''Deadpool 2'' was the best pre-selling R-rated film in their respective histories. The film opened in 4,332 theaters, setting the record for widest R-rated release ever (beating the 4,103 count by '' It'' in September 2017). It made $18.6 million from Thursday night previews and $53.3 million on its first day, setting records for both by an R-rated film, beating ''It''s $13.5 million and $50.4 million, respectively. Additionally, ''Deadpool 2'' had the highest opening day for a
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
film, beating '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith''. The film went on to debut to $125.5 million, the second-best opening for an R-rated film behind the original, and became the first film to dethrone '' Avengers: Infinity War'' atop the box office. It fell 65.4% in its second weekend, grossing $43.5 million and finishing second behind newcomer '' Solo: A Star Wars Story''. The film made $23.2 million in its third weekend, remaining in second behind ''Solo''. It dropped 39% in both its fourth and fifth weekends, making a respective $14.1 million and $8.7 million. Worldwide, the film had a global debut of $300.4 million, including $174.9 million internationally, the largest-ever for an R-rated film or Fox release. It opened in 81 markets and finished first in all of them, including the United Kingdom ($18 million), Korea ($17 million), Russia ($11.8 million) and Australia ($11.7 million). It remained number one in 27 markets in its second weekend, making $57 million and bringing its foreign total through its first full week to $279.7 million. In its third week of international release the film made $47 million, including a $5.5 million debut in Japan (26% better than the first film), bringing its foreign total to $344 million. In China, where the PG-13 ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' version was released, it had earned $42 million, as of February 7, 2019. ''Deadpool 2'' superseded its predecessor to become the highest grossing R-rated film of all time, until '' Joker'', with a global gross of over $1 billion, surpassed it in 2019.


Reception

On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it threatens to buckle under the weight of its meta gags, ''Deadpool 2'' is a gory, gleeful lampoon of the superhero genre buoyed by Ryan Reynolds' undeniable charm." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...
, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on reviews from 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film; audiences were 59% male and 41% female.
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicag ...
'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, jokingly calling it the best sequel since ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
'' and saying: "''Deadpool 2'' is wicked, dark fun from start to finish, with some twisted and very funny special effects, cool production elements ndterrific ensemble work." ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fil ...
'' writer J.R. Kinnard wrote: "If you enjoyed the guilty pleasures of ''Deadpool'', it's an immutable law of physics that you will love ''Deadpool 2''. The second verse may be the same as the first, but that verse is a dirty limerick of childish goodness." Michael Phillips of the '' Chicago Tribune'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, "''Deadpool 2'' is just like ''Deadpool'' only more so. It's actually a fair bit better—funnier, more inventive than the 2016 smash...and more consistent in its chosen tone and style: ultraviolent screwball comedy." A.O. Scott of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was critical of the
cynical Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of "others". A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic ...
tone of the film, writing "something ever so slightly dishonest about this character, something false about the boundaries drawn around his sadism and his rage. ''Deadpool 2'' dabbles in ugliness and transgression, but takes no real creative risks." ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...
'' writer David Edelstein wrote that the film was tedious and predictable, noting "A superhero movie with the looseness of a ''Mad'' magazine parody remains a viable idea, as demonstrated by the underrated ''Mystery Men'' and, of course, ''Deadpool''. But a film that spits one-liners as mechanically as a tennis-ball launcher is even more tediously predictable than one with no sense of humor at all."


Accolades


Future


Canceled Fox sequel and spin-off

By November 2016, with development underway on ''Deadpool 2'', Fox was also planning ''Deadpool 3'', which was said to include the X-Force team. With the confirmation that Leitch would direct ''Deadpool 2'', Fox was looking for a separate filmmaker to direct ''Deadpool 3''. In March 2017, Reese clarified that though ''Deadpool 2'' sets up the X-Force team, a future film focused on the team would be separate from ''Deadpool 3'': " 'X-Force''is where we're launching something bigger, but then 'Deadpool 3'' iswhere we're contracting and staying personal and small." In May 2018, Reynolds stated that a third Deadpool film might not be made, given the franchise's shift of focus to X-Force, though Reese and Wernick felt a third film would "absolutely" be happening after Reynolds took a break from the character and ''X-Force'' was released, which they compared to the ''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
'' franchise releasing ''
Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...
'' (2013) after the crossover film '' The Avengers'' (2012). Also, Leitch expressed interest in returning to the franchise. In January 2021, Reynolds revealed that the plot of the film would have involved Deadpool and
Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
going on a
road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by ...
, in the style of the film ''
Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as ...
''. After the acquisition of
21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, fo ...
by
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
in 2019, all planned ''X-Men'' films in development were cancelled, including ''X-Force'' and Fox's ''Deadpool 3'', with
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
taking control of the franchise, alongside the
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...
.


Marvel Cinematic Universe


''Deadpool 3''

Disney CEO
Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and C ...
said that Deadpool would be integrated with the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Ma ...
(MCU) under Disney, and the character's films could remain R-rated "as long as we let the audiences know what's coming". The ''Once Upon a Deadpool'' version of the film was being watched carefully by Disney and
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
to see whether it might inform how they could approach the character and integrate him into the PG-13 MCU. In October 2019, Reese and Wernick said they had a script in development. Reese said, " eadpoolwill live in the R-rated universe that we've created, and hopefully we'll be allowed to play a little bit in the MCU sandbox as well". Reynolds was announced to continue to play Deadpool. In December, Reynolds confirmed that a third ''Deadpool'' film was in development at Marvel Studios. In November 2020, Marvel brought in Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, known for their work on ''
Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who ...
'', to help write a draft for the third film. In January 2021, Marvel Studios reiterated that the sequel will be rated R like its predecessors and will be set in the MCU. Filming is likely to commence in late 2022. In March 2022,
Shawn Levy Shawn Adam Levy (born July 23, 1968) is a Canadian film director, film producer, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the ''Night at the Museum'' film franchise and ...
, who had previously worked with Reynolds on ''
Free Guy ''Free Guy'' is a 2021 American science fiction action comedy film directed and produced by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and a story by Lieberman. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utka ...
'' and ''
The Adam Project ''The Adam Project'' is a 2022 American science fiction action comedy film co-produced by Skydance Media, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment. It was directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay written by Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jen ...
'', was revealed as the film's director, with Reese and Wernick returning to write the screenplay. Levy expressed hope to include Wolverine actor
Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
in the film in some capacity, and
Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries '' Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...
is expected to return in the film as Blind Al. That September, Reynolds confirmed in a Tweet that Jackman will be returning as Wolverine in the upcoming film as well as revealing the sequel's release date as September 6, 2024, making it the first film of the MCU's Phase Six slate. The film was later delayed to November 8, 2024, taking over the original release date of the MCU ''Fantastic Four'' reboot. Filming is scheduled to begin in May 2023.


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control Deadpool (film series) 20th Century Fox films 2018 films 2018 action films 2018 LGBT-related films American action comedy films American black comedy films American films about revenge American sequel films American superhero films 2010s English-language films Film spin-offs Films directed by David Leitch Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Films produced by Ryan Reynolds Films produced by Simon Kinberg Films scored by Tyler Bates Films using motion capture Films set in Hong Kong Films set in Mississippi Films set in Osaka Films set in Sicily Films set in Westchester County, New York Films set in prison Films shot in Vancouver Films with screenplays by Paul Wernick Films with screenplays by Rhett Reese Films with screenplays by Ryan Reynolds IMAX films Metafictional works Self-reflexive films Superhero black comedy films LGBT-related comedy films LGBT-related superhero films TSG Entertainment films X-Men (film series) 2010s American films Live-action films based on Marvel Comics