CHICAGO – It was pretty clear by the set-up of his character and his limited screen time in the actual movie that Ryan Reynolds [7] was meant for bigger things with his turn as Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine [9]”. And when the Gavin Hood-directed and Hugh Jackman [6]-starring blockbuster went on to make over $80 million domestically in its first three days, a spin-off was inevitable and the project was confirmed this week.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is itself a spin-off of the “X-Men Trilogy [10]” - Bryan Singer’s “X-Men” & “X2: X-Men United” and Brett Ratner’s “X-Men: The Last Stand”. And the film is designed for more spin-offs, as it introduces the world to a variety of Marvel Universe characters. A Ryan Reynolds Deadpool movie has been in some stage of rumor or production for years. So a “Deadpool” film seemed nearly inevitable. (He mentioned the project to me personally years ago on the set of “The Amityville Horror” and long before the character’s inclusion in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”).
But a worldwide gross of $158 million and counting after just one weekend demands more than just one sequel/spin-off. According to Variety [11], a straight-up sequel, likely to star Hugh Jackman, is also already in development.
According to Variety, the production company behind the film “have begun planning the sequel, which they are squarely focusing on the samurai storyline originated in the comic series, and whose Japanese locale was teased after the film’s final credits. A writer has yet to be hired.”
As for Deadpool, E! [12] reports that Mr. Scarlett Johansson himself will again star as Wade Wilson, the man better known as the wise-cracking Deadpool, but there are no other details on the proposed film at this time.
Believe it or not, a Deadpool movie and Wolverine sequel are only half of the X-projects in the development. Fox has long been working on an “X-Men Origins: Magneto” spin-off and “The O.C.” creator Josh Schwartz is reportedly penning “X-Men: First Class,” a reboot with young mutants at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. It’s a Marvel world. We only live in it.
[13] | By BRIAN TALLERICO [14] |
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[1] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/users/briantt
[2] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/brian-tallerico
[3] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/deadpool
[4] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/gavin-hood
[5] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/hollywoodchicagodotcom-content
[6] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/hugh-jackman
[7] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/ryan-reynolds
[8] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/wolverine
[9] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/x-men-origins-wolverine
[10] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/x-men-trilogy
[11] http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003176.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
[12] http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b122412_wolverines_ryan_reynolds_dives_in.html
[13] mailto:brian@hollywoodchicago.com
[14] http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/about#BRIAN