With Deadpool currently standing as the most commercially successful movie from the longrunning X-Men franchise, it’s natural that a sequel has already been greenlit. While it’s still very early days in terms of pre-production for the next movie starring Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, this hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about what might make an appearance in the film.

One aspect of the movie that will be crucial to getting the next film right is the villain (or villains) that Deadpool will face. The first Deadpool movie was full to the brim with Easter Eggs and nods to Marvel comic books, so it’s more than likely that the villain of the next film will be pulled from the pages of Deadpool’s comics – albeit perhaps being heavily reimagined for cinema.

There are plenty of unique and colourful villains that the movie could choose from – here are 13 Deadpool Villains Who Could Appear in the Sequel.

13. Madcap

Probably the villain who’s had the most impact on Deadpool over the years in Madcap. A fellow regenerator, Madcap is just as capable of regrowing body parts as Deadpool, and as such, the character works as a perfect foil for Wilson.

At one point, though, in the comics, Deadpool and Madcap accidentally became merged as a single person, with Madcap manifesting as a voice within Deadpool’s head for several years after some lightning from Thor combined the two healers together.

Madcap would work well in the second Deadpool movie, whether playing a role as Deadpool’s conscience as he often did during his spell inside the character’s head in the comics, or simply appearing in a similar adversarial role as Lady Deathstrike, who battled adamantium claw-to-adamantium claw against Wolverine in X2: X-Men United.

12. Taskmaster

If a hero can heal at will, what villain can pose a legitimate threat? This is a question the Wolverine movies have been struggling with for years, but one of Deadpool’s recurring adversaries might hold the answer.

Taskmaster has the ability to copy and learn any foe’s fighting moves and style simply by observing them in action, meaning that there’s nothing Deadpool can throw at him without Taskmaster instantly learning, mastering, and replicating Deadpool’s fighting abilities.

Tim Miller has said in interviews that he’d love to feature Taskmaster in a Deadpool movie, but while Fox did at one point own the rights to the character, it’s believed that this ownership has returned to Marvel for the moment. That said, with Tim Miller attempting to build bridges between the two companies, it’s possible that he could convince Marvel to let him use the character in his next movie.

11. Typhoid Mary

Another perfect match for Deadpool is Typhoid Mary, a mentally disturbed mutant whose psychic powers have led to the development of three personalities within her head. The character has had a romantic involvement with Deadpool in the comics and the two often square off against each other on the printed page.

It would be interesting to see how Typhoid Mary’s telekinesis and pyrokinesis could damage Deadpool on the big screen. Typhoid Mary is both a mutant and a reoccurring Daredevil character, so it’s not certain whether Fox or Marvel owns the rights to the character – it could be that Mary falls into the grey area between the two studios like Quicksilver, which could mean that she’d be a perfect fit for the franchise-straddling nature of the Deadpool movies.

10. Lady Death

While many villains in the Marvel Universe have hyperbolic names that don’t amount to much (Dr. Doom sounds cool but is rarely involved in any kind of doombringing), Lady Death does exactly what her name suggests: she is death personified. The character has appeared across many Marvel comic books and met with a slew of characters, but she’s familiar to nobody more than to Deadpool.

Deadpool’s history with Lady Death is complicated, to say the least. Sometimes lovers, sometimes adversaries, and sometimes caught in a crazy love triangle with Thanos, they share a lot of affection for one another, even though they’re unable to be together long-term. In a movie about a superhuman who can regrow limbs at will, having a fight against literal Death itself would be an interesting take for the sequel.

9. Super Skrull

X-Men villains and mutants aren’t the only characters that Fox has to work with in their comic book adaptations – but thus far the studio has been hesitant about mixing Fantastic Four foes into their mutant universe, there’s no better place to start than a Deadpool movie.

The skrulls are a shapeshifting alien race that has often plagued the Marvel comics universe, often appearing as imposters to legitimate Marvel heroes. The Super Skrull goes one step beyond imitating heroes’ appearances, though: the character has the ability to use any of the Fantastic Four’s powers. Pitting Deadpool against the combined might of the First Family of Marvel comics would be the perfect way to increase the tension and action after Wade Wilson’s first movie.

8. Former US Presidents

In the Marvel comics, Deadpool has a reputation for taking on a very specific kind of mercenary contract. In the Dead Presidents arc, an experiment to clone former US presidents goes horribly wrong, and the job of ‘cleaning up the mess’ is left to Deadpool, who travels the world in search of evil clones of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and other notable faces from history.

The Deadpool movie didn’t exactly take itself seriously, and as such, seeing Wade Wilson in a cage match against Abe Lincoln doesn’t sound outside the realms of possibility for the sequel. It’d be an interesting direction to take, but one that would definitely fit with the version of Deadpool that Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds have created.

7. Id the Selfish Moon

With rumors circulating that the colossal Ego the Living Planet might make an appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, one of the more bizarre villains in Deadpool’s rogues gallery would be a perfect way to reference the Marvel Cinematic Universe without being too obvious.

Id the Selfish Moon is a reference to Freudian theory, and serves to counter Ego’s hatred of other species by simply wanting to have fun and party all the time, in much the same way that Freud believed the Id and the Ego summarize the impulsive and pragmatic sides of the human psyche, respectively.

If any Marvel character other than the Guardians could take on a moon-sized enemy whilst spouting witticisms, it’s Deadpool. While Id the Selfish Moon is one of the more unusual villains that could appear in the next Deadpool film, he certainly would fit with the version of Deadpool we’ve seen thus far.

6. Sauron

In addition to being the name of the villain in the Lord of the Rings saga, Sauron is also the name of a scientist and common foe of the X-Men who found himself turned into a dinosaur after an extended period of time in the Savage Lands, a part of prehistoric Earth that still exists within the Marvel universe.

The idea of a villain who is half dinosaur is probably a bit of a stretch for the mostly grounded world of the X-Men cinematic universe, but this kind of villain is a perfect fit for Deadpool, who’d no doubt have a few quips to make about how ridiculous the character looks. Sauron also has the power to drain the life out of his victims, which would balance out Deadpool’s healing factor nicely.

5. Hit-Monkey

Another of the stranger characters in the Marvel pantheon, Hit-Monkey is a monkey who wears an adorable little black suit whilst using dual pistols to assassinate enemies. The idea of a monkey assassin is obviously not meant to be taken seriously, which is why the character would be an excellent fit for the next Deadpool movie.

Deadpool’s faced Hit-Monkey multiple times in the comics and it’s always been an intense if surreal experience to see the two fight. Spider-Man’s also run afoul of the primate on several occasions, often when accompanying Deadpool, which means that if Tim Miller gets his wish of including Spidey in his next film, Hit-Monkey will be an excellent choice for a villain.

4. Puppet Master

Another of the Fantastic Four villains that Fox might like to get some use out of is Puppet Master, whose powers essentially boil down to being able to control voodoo doll puppets of Marvel heroes. In the comics, Puppet Master has a particular dislike for The Everlovin’ Blue-Eye’d Thing, who has been romantically involved with his stepdaughter at various times.

As such an unusual character isn’t likely to appear in a Fantastic Four movie any time soon, Puppet Master might be a good fit for Deadpool’s next film instead, and could create a scenario where Deadpool has to square off against various members of the X-Men (not that Deadpool honestly needs an excuse).

3. Mister Sinister

Responsible for the creation of Apocalypse, Mister Sinister is a long-lived scientist who’s tangled with the X-Men on many occasions. The character was originally created out of a desire to give the X-Men somebody formidable to face other than Magneto and his brotherhood, and as such, Sinister is similarly focused on a goal that creates tension with mutantkind: namely, Sinister is obsessed with using genetic experimentation to create the perfect mutant.

While Sinister is a little colorful for a main title X-Men movie, he’d be perfect for a slightly less reverent Deadpool film, especially if Deadpool’s yet again drafted in by the X-Men to fight a common foe. Tim Miller’s decision to create a version of Colossus that perfectly matches his comic book appearance might mean that Sister could appear in a movie in all his garish ‘80s glory, which would be fantastic if only for providing Deadpool with plenty to mock about the villain.

2. Deadpool

There’s a lot of precedent for Deadpool meeting himself. The Deadpool Corps comic series sees Deadpool teaming up with alternate versions of himself from various other realities (including Lady Deadpool, Kid Deadpool, and Headpool, the zombie floating head), while in Deadpool kills Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth encounters an alternate universe version of himself and the two make a good attempt at murdering each other.

There’s plenty of ways the next Deadpool movie could feature Deadpool at war with himself. If dimension-hopping sounds too far-fetched, there’s always cloning, which is another popular way of introducing more Deadpools in the comics. After all, the only way to beat the popularity of one Deadpool is to throw another one into the mix.

1. Deadpool (X-Men Origins Version)

While originally posited online as a joke, one idea for the villain in the next Deadpool movie that’s gained plenty of traction among fans of the character is the mouthless, bald, bladed version of Deadpool that appeared in the poorly received X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The portrayal of the character in this movie was so universally reviled that it led to a halt in progress on the solo Deadpool movie for several years.

If the Deadpool sequel is to feature dimension-hopping, though, it would be perfectly within the tone of the movie series for Deadpool to pause long enough to seek out his alternate self from the X-Men Origins movie and utterly destroy him. Such a scene would no doubt be a fan favorite for years to come.

Chimichangas Ahoy

Whichever villain turns up in the next Deadpool movie, it’s safe to say that it’ll be impressive.

After the popularity of the first movie, Fox will no doubt provide a far bigger budget for the sequel, and with Tim Miller returning to direct, alongside the Deadpool fan-powerhouse that is Ryan Reynolds, whatever comes out of the creative team will surely be a fantastic spectacle.