Last year's Deadpool was very much a self-contained solo movie, but it was still part of Fox's larger X-Men film franchise. Therefore, it only made sense that there were references to the universe, such as Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead having key supporting roles, and the X-Mansion appearing on-screen. Now that Deadpool is a monumental critical and commercial success, some fans are hoping that the floodgates are now open and future installments could feature more connections to the main series - including appearances by more famous X-Men characters.
Star Ryan Reynolds has long been hoping he can convince Hugh Jackman to reprise Wolverine in a team-up film, but for the time being, Deadpool is going to exist separately in his own weird corner of the universe. There are currently no plans to bring in some bigger names for the planned sequels, and now writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have explained why that is.
In an interview with Collider (hat tip LRM), Reese stated that any cameo from a major X-Man would need to fit naturally into the story, and right now that may not jell with the established tone and style of Deadpool:
"You kinda don't want a Ferrari in Deadpool unless it's for a real purpose in the sense that Deadpool is a gritty, grimy, smaller thing, with characters you aren't as familiar with. It's a little bit like lovable losers. It's not the A-list of superheroes, necessarily. ... The occasional cameo or appearance by an A-list type person could be really funny and/or dramatic. So we have an eye open for those things, but we don't want to just put people in it because we can now, if that makes sense."
Indeed, part of Deadpool's charm was its smaller budget, and the goal with the sequel is to keep things small scale and not expand the scope too much. That might be difficult to do if Wolverine, Cyclops, or Jean Grey showed up even for just a scene. The term "lovable losers" is fitting, since in the first movie Deadpool cracked a joke about how the studio was unable to afford more than just the two X-Men (implying Colossus and Negasonic were bargain bin picks). Right now, the Deadpool series seems to be more about giving the under-appreciated heroes some love on the big screen, and there's something nice about that. It helps set these films apart from the glut of other comic book adaptations, and Deadpool definitely felt fresh and original.
There are also some strong artistic merits to keeping things this way for the time being. Many people are aware that the X-Men film timeline is a jumbled, confusing mess, so it might just be easier for Reese and Wernick to not worry about that too much and just focus on Deadpool's crazy little world. Fox is still trying to figure out the best course for the X-Men franchise's future, but they know they have a formula that works with Deadpool, and they're smart to stick to it. For fans, it should come as a great relief that Deadpool 2 won't get bogged down in shared universe obligations, and hopefully it can be just as rewarding an experience as the first installment.
Source: Collider (via LRM)
