- The X-Men movies are about to get silly, yo.
Will we finally see some Morph action?
Are we gonna get some arcade goodness?
Where you at, Beak?
Find out on today's Nerdist News, What the Fridays.
I don't know why I'm doing that.
Despite missing out on that elusive Oscar nom,
we've all got to admit that Deadpool was a game changer.
The goofy, perverse, hyper-violent, R-rated,
fourth-wall-breaking, superhero flick defied all odds
and made roughly a zillion dollars
off of its minuscule budget, while drawing rave reviews
and racking up a ton of awards and nominations
from critics, audiences, and even the Hollywood Guild.
It's pretty insane and stands in stark contrast
to Fox's less-loved X-Men franchise
which dropped one of its least successful,
poorly reviewed installments last year
with X-Men: Apocalypse.
So I guess it's no surprise to learn that Deadpool 2
will begin to pave the way for a new approach
to the cinematic X universe.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter,
writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick clarified
that while Deadpool exists within the X-Men universe,
he's kind of in his own pocket universe,
declaring that, "He's part of the larger X-Men universe,
"but in a way, he isn't.
"He interacts with that world, but he is in the present.
"We don't deal with the '60s or the '70s or the future.
"It's here and now."
Totally.
And while it wasn't spelled out before,
that was always kind of our assumption.
Obviously, this is different from how the Marvel
universe operates with everything tightly connected
and working off of an established timeline.
But with Deadpool 2 and an eventual Deadpool team flick,
X-Force, on the way, should we be expecting
a more steady build to a larger story?
Apparently, the answer to that is no!
"I think sometimes the movies get
"a little overstuffed trying to set up future movies
"and it almost feels burdensome."
Burdensome, burdensome, yes, that's right.
That "it almost feels burdensome or obligatory."
Can't say that.
"Where you are weaving in four or five different plots
"that really aren't in service of the current movie,
"but are to set up audience anticipation
"or logic for what's coming.
"We really are trying our best to avoid that."
And I say, thank god!
I am ready for that approach.
All right, so the Deadpool branches,
off of this X-Men movie universe tree,
are going to stand alone, not telling a big episodic story
like the Marvel and DC universes like to.
Which is super cool, but how will it effect the larger XU?
Well, here's where things get interesting.
According to Wernick, "The hope is Deadpool 2 and X-Force
"and future movies all be
"this new, consistent, sillier tone.
"More self-aware tone.
"And edgier and rated R tone."
Wow, dude, all the movies.
With the future of the mainline X flicks,
a big question mark after Apocalypse's tepid response,
and Logan putting a nice dark button
on Hugh Jackman's run with the franchise in March,
we've been wondering if a big X-Men reboot was in the cards.
And while Wernick might just be referring
to the Deadpool X flicks, we wouldn't be surprised
if he was outlining a big tonal shift
for the whole franchise.
I mean, think about it.
If the rumors are correct, the next big X-Men movie
will take place in the '90s and star
the younger cast introduced in Apocalypse.
The Gambit movie is getting reworked,
but is still on the table.
A more horror-tinged New Mutants is in the cards
for the near future.
And things are definitely sounding poppier,
pulpier, and potentially sillier.
And while that isn't exactly
our favorite kind of X-Men movie,
everyone knows that the best X stuff
is that sweet, soapy '70s comic book run.
A more fun direction might not be such a bad idea.
Would we prefer Fox just loosen up
and let each movie be its own thing?
Yeah, for sure, but overall,
this isn't the worst kind of tonal shift, and hey,
they could always recalibrate further on down the line.
But what do you guys think?
Are you down with the whole X franchise getting
less dour and more zany?
Do you want everything to be more interconnected?
Or are you cool with Wernick and Reese easing off
the multi-movie build-up?
Let's discuss.
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