Deadpool is a cash machine for Disney and Marvel Studios right now. The last movie, Deadpool and Wolverine, raked in $1.3 billion worldwide, making it one of the most financially as well as critically successful movies in the MCU. However, actor Ryan Reynolds, who has potrayed the Merc with a Mouth for three movies now, reflected back on the early stages of the third movie’s development when there were plans to kill the character off.
Thanks to his fourth-wall breaking antics and self-awareness, Deadpool seems like the kind of comic book character that wouldn’t stay dead for very long (at least as far as the box office profits for Disney go). However, Ryan Reynolds said in a recent interview with The Box Office podcast that during the early stages of the script, they had considered killing Deadpool. “There’s always the thought of killing Deadpool in the last one,” Reynolds explained.
The actor added: “Again, it’s like listening to the movie. Me, [editors] Shane Reid, Dean Zimmerman, and [director] Shawn Levy must have reworked that third act for 45 days straight.” After hearing Madonna’s song ‘Like a Prayer’ which was used in the final act of Deadpool and Wolverine, Reynolds changed his mind. “Finally figuring it out — I am such a needle-drop person, but I’m really working hard to embrace score. It was Rob Simonsen who really helped us get there by blending score, needle drop, and all these things that gave you that feeling we were working for.”
With a complete trilogy under Deadpool’s belt, it’s hard to say where Disney and Marvel Studios will take the character next in the MCU. It’s unclear if he will make an appearance in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars (which recently got pushed back by a few months), though fans are hopeful that the character could bring a lot to the table. After Wolverine, there’s now a push to get Deadpool to meet Spider-Man. Because why not?
Deadpool and Wolverine is streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: The Box Office Podcast
