Like the sequel to any other surprise blockbuster, Deadpool 2 has a lot of expectations to live up to. However, the pressure on its creative team is far greater than usual, as they’ve shouldered the responsibility of introducing a fan-favorite character like Cable and setting up an X-Force movie that’s already in the works.
While speaking to Collider recently, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, screenwriters for last year's original movie as well as its upcoming sequel, promised that Cable’s depiction will be faithful to the comics. Reese remarked:
I think authenticity is so important. I think part of what made Deadpool such a success, I think we're going to continue that authenticity."
The two scribes are aware of the fact that Cable's origin story is highly convoluted, and it’s an enormous challenge to get it right in a two-hour movie in which he is nothing more than a supporting character. So they’ll try to stay true to the character's personality without having to clog up Deadpool 2 with redundant exposition. Reese added:
I think we're going to distill him down to his essence. It will be authentic and faithful, but it's not going to include the 18,000 details if you were going to read a Wikipedia page about Cable. You'd roll your eyes.
In regard to setting up X-Force, Reese admitted to Collider that they do have a responsibility to that particular universe, but also claimed that they will not let the fans down in the process. Wernick explained:
We never want to let the tail wag the dog. We want to tell the best Deadpool story we can. But I do think we have a responsibility to think about a larger universe in the way that Marvel does and start to put pieces in place. Some of these movies feel overstuffed and almost choking with the need to set up eighteen different things that pay off down the road, and we want to avoid that responsibility to the extent that it hurts us.
He went on to add that while they intend to "hint at things…plan some characters…and make some nods", they will try their best to make sure that it's "above all a Deadpool movie". Reese concluded:
Its purpose is not to set up X-Force. It will likely set up X-Force, but the drive of the movie won't be our eyes on Movie 3.
In the past, movies like Iron Man 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice have suffered in their attempts to set up the future for franchises. But Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick seem to know well enough what they should and shouldn't do.
