Wade Wilson (film character)
Wade Wilson | |
---|---|
X-Men film series and Marvel Cinematic Universe character | |
First appearance | X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) |
Based on | |
Adapted by | |
Portrayed by | Ryan Reynolds Scott Adkins (Weapon XI) |
In-universe information | |
Alias | Deadpool Weapon XI[a] |
Species | Mutant |
Occupation | |
Affiliation |
|
Spouse | Vanessa Carlysle (fiancée) |
Wade Winston Wilson, also known as Deadpool, is a
The
The character's portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was negatively received by both critics and fans for deviating from the source material. However, his characterization in the two Deadpool films received critical acclaim, with praise directed at Reynolds's performance and its faithfulness to the comics.
Concept, creation, and characterization
Development
By March 2005, Reynolds learned that Fox had expressed interest in a film featuring Deadpool.[5] The character was set to make a cameo appearance in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, with Reynolds cast in the part. His role was expanded during the film's production.[6] Katz was an executive at Fox at that point, and said that Deadpool was "nicely set up to be explored in his own way" in a future film.[4] The film's portrayal deviates from the original comic character, "imbuing him with several superpowers and sewing his mouth shut". Deadpool apparently dies in the film, though a post-credits scene showing him still alive was added to the film shortly before its release. After the successful opening weekend of Wolverine, Fox officially began development on Deadpool, with Reynolds attached to star and X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner involved. The spinoff was set to ignore the Wolverine version of Deadpool and return to the character's roots with a slapstick tone and a "propensity to break the fourth wall".[7]
At Fox, the film went through several directors before Tim Miller settled on the position, with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick hired to write the script. Meanwhile, Reynolds took the lead role in Green Lantern, a film that was critically and financially unsuccessful.[8] Due to this poor reception and the fact that a film based on Deadpool would most likely be rated R instead of PG-13, Fox became doubtful about the project, even after Reynolds produced test footage of himself in-character. However, the footage was eventually leaked in 2014 to enthusiastic reviews, prompting Fox to green-light the project. Reynolds attributed Fox's green-lighting of the film entirely to the leak. He, Miller and the writers had previously discussed leaking the footage themselves, and Reynolds initially thought that Miller had done so. He later believed the leak came from someone at Fox. In exchange for being able to make the film the way they wanted, Fox gave the crew a much smaller budget than is typical for superhero films.[9]
Characterization
In both timelines, Wade possesses a highly sarcastic sense of humor that irritates and annoys most of his enemies. He regularly insults and belittles his enemies. He feels no shame and can make a joke out of any situation, even after months of endless torture and being shaken by his subsequent transformation. Only a few select people can withstand his seemingly endless talking, and his mouth is sewn shut in the final act of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
His personality is significantly more fleshed out in the new timeline. He loves cartoons,
Like his comics counterpart, Wade himself is aware that he is a fictional character in a movie and makes fun of this by breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience.[10][11] In Deadpool 2, when his autograph is requested by a fan, he signs it "Ryan Reynolds."
Despite his initial immaturity, Wade is a genuine, soft, good-hearted man, and in time becomes a very moral and heroic person to the point of sacrificing himself to save the
Reynolds worked with longtime trainer Don Saladino to get in shape for the role, gaining 7 pounds of lean muscle. Saladino commented that while they aimed to achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance, they also wanted to get Reynolds "actual strength over superficial", so they spent extensive time working on Reynolds's mobility prior to working on actual strength.[12]
Marvel Cinematic Universe
After the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company was announced in December 2017 and completed in March 2019, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Deadpool would be integrated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe under Disney,[13] and that the company would be willing to make future R-rated Deadpool films "as long as we let the audiences know what's coming".[14] The Once Upon a Deadpool version of the film was being watched carefully by Disney and Marvel Studios to see whether it might inform how they could approach the character and integrate him into the PG-13 MCU.[15]
In October 2019, Reese and Wernick said that they had a script in development, but were waiting for approval from Marvel Studios to begin production on the third film. Reese said, "[Deadpool] will live in the R-rated universe that we've created, and hopefully we'll be allowed to play a little bit in the MCU sandbox as well and incorporate him into that."[16] In December 2019, Reynolds confirmed that a third Deadpool film was in development at Marvel Studios,[17] which was confirmed by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige in January 2021, with Reynolds reprising his role. The film will retain the R-rating of the prior films and will be set in the MCU. Feige described Wilson as a "very different type of character" in the MCU.[18][19] In March 2022, Shawn Levy was revealed as the film's director after previously collaborating with Reynolds on Free Guy (2021) and The Adam Project (2022),[20] while Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were announced to be rewriting the Molyneux sisters' screenplay, reprising their duties from the first two Deadpool films. Filming began in May 2023.[21][22] Reynolds is also slated to produce the film alongside Kevin Feige through his production company Maximum Effort.[23]
In May 2022, screenwriter
Appearances
- In the original timeline, Wilson is first referenced in X2 (2003), his name appears on William Stryker's computer that contained files on multiple individuals and organizations related to mutants.[citation needed]
- Wilson's first on-screen appearance is in Loganand Creed fight Weapon XI and manage to defeat and seemingly kill him.
- In Francis "Ajax"tortures Wilson in order to catalyze the treatment, which eventually results in regressive mutant genes activating, causing the latter's disfigurement and healing factor. In response, Wilson develops a vendetta against Ajax and undergoes a quest to force him to fix his disfigurement before eventually killing him upon learning it would be impossible.
- In the short film, No Good Deed (2017), Wilson comes across an old man being mugged in an alley, and races to change into his Deadpool costume before he helps the man. As Wilson struggles to get dressed, the man is shot. Wilson emerges, wearing his costume, only to find the man dead and the mugger long gone.
- In Cable.
- In a Korg to make a trailer reaction video for the trailer for Free Guy (2021). Taika Waititi voices Korg in the short, reprising his role from the MCU films Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Thor: Love and Thunder(2022).
- In Time Variance Authority to change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe along with Wolverine.
Fictional character biography
Original timeline
Team X
In the original continuity, Wade Wilson is a
Brainwashed by Stryker
Six years later, Wilson is captured by Creed and taken to Stryker's base at
Revised timeline
Early life
In a
Becoming Deadpool
Wilson is diagnosed with late-stage
Afraid to reunite with Vanessa in his current appearance, Wilson takes on the moniker "Deadpool", after remembering when his best friend
Stopping Cable
Two years later, Wilson continues working as a successful mercenary-for-hire, taking down the most despicable and untouchable of criminals. On the day of his anniversary with Vanessa, Wilson is assigned to kill mobster Sergei Valishnikov. However, when Deadpool attacks his base, Valishnikov hides in a panic room. Since waiting for Sergei to get out was going to take too much time, Wade decides to let him go for the time being in order to spend time with Vanessa. Unfortunately, Valishnikov and his men decide to retaliate against Deadpool and attack him at his apartment, inadvertently killing Vanessa, after which Deadpool finishes the hit in vengeance. For the next six months, Wilson tries to commit suicide by blowing himself up. This ultimately fails, however, due to his healing factor, and his pieces remain alive to be found and reassembled by Colossus.
Colossus manages to convince Wade to join the
Forming X-Force and teaming-up with Cable
Wilson returns to life and forms a superhero team of his own called
Cable reluctantly agrees to work with a recovering Wilson and Domino in order to stop Russell's first murder. The team is initially overpowered by Juggernaut while Russell terrorizes his headmaster until Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and her girlfriend Yukio arrive and helped to hold him off. Wilson attempts to talk Russell down, even putting on an inhibitor collar to negate his powers as a show of good faith. This ultimately fails, however, and Cable shoots the boy. Wilson jumps in front of the bullet and is fatally wounded, as his healing factor is negated by the collar. Feeling it is his time to go, he refuses to let anyone remove the collar, choosing to be reunited with Vanessa in the afterlife. Russell is inspired by Wilson's sacrifice and chooses not to kill the headmaster, preventing the death of Cable's family in the future. Cable decides to use his final time-traveling charge to go back and hide Vanessa's Skee-Ball token inside Deadpool's uniform, in the spot where he would be shot. Wade still takes the bullet for Russell, but this time it is stopped by the token and Wade survives. Despite this, Russell is still inspired by Wade's sacrifice and does not kill the headmaster. As the group leaves the scene, the gloating headmaster mocks them until Wade's taxi-driver friend Dopinder runs him over with his car, killing him anyway.
Altering history
Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio manage to fix Cable's time-traveling device, and Wade uses it to make several alterations to the timeline. He first goes back and saves both Vanessa and former X-Force member Peter. He then goes back and shoots the Weapon XI version of Wade Wilson several times, confusing the bystanding Wolverine and foreshadowed a crossover between Deadpool and Wolverine. After this, he makes a stop in the late 2000s to shoot Ryan Reynolds in the back of the head as he is reading the script for the film Green Lantern (2011), before entering 1889 in order to care for a newborn Adolf Hitler and prevent his turn towards dictatorship.
Other variants
Weapon XI variant
Similar to Wade Wilson in the original continuity, this variant is a soldier and mercenary with enhanced human reflexes and agility and is a member of a
Deadpool & Wolverine
Multiple "variants" of Wilson in addition to the revised timeline variant appear in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Other variants
- A female variant of Wilson dubbed, Lady Deadpool.
- A medium-sized Xolo canine variant of Wilson dubbed, Dogpool, played by dog actor Peggy.[29]
- A "Samurai-based" variant of Wilson, also portrayed by Reynolds.[30]
In other media
Television
- Audio of Reynolds's performance in Deadpool (2016) was used in test footage for a cancelled Deadpool animated series being developed by Donald and Stephen Glover for the television network FXX.[31][32]
- Ryan Reynolds made an in-character guest appearance to promote Deadpool 2 (2018) on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, reprising his role as part of the opening monologue for the episode aired on May 16, 2018.[33]
- Reynolds made another in-character appearance to promote the at the time in-production Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) at the 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, accepting the award for Welcome to Wrexham with Rob McElhenney for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.[34]
Video games
- Wade Wilson / Weapon XI appears in the Steven Blum.
- Reynolds reprised his role as Wade Wilson / Deadpool for the iOS and Android mobile game Marvel Strike Force.[35]
Web series
- Reynolds reprised his role as Wade Wilson / Deadpool by co-narrating the Honest Trailers for Deadpool,[36] Logan, which was the series' 200th video,[37] and Deadpool 2.[38]
Reception
Reynolds's initial portrayal of Wade Wilson / Deadpool / Weapon XI in
In contrast, Reynolds's portrayal of the title character in the standalone Deadpool films was critically acclaimed. Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw called Deadpool (2016) "the funniest Ryan Reynolds film since Van Wilder: Party Liaison", while going on to observe that "Ryan Reynolds is developing something self-deprecatory and knowing in his handsomeness, a Clooneyesque goof, which works with the comedy here".[42] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praised Reynolds' subsequent redemption as the character, highlighting the first Deadpool film as proof that "the director, Tim Miller, and Mr. Reynolds can do more than hit the same bombastic notes over and over again", while calling his performance, "career rehab (or penance) for Green Lantern, the 2011 dud he fronted for DC Comics".[43] In his review for Variety, Justin Chang commented on the film's ability to leverage Reynolds' "funnyman sensibilities", going on to exclaim that "through sheer timing, gusto and verve (and an assist from Julian Clarke's deft editing), Reynolds gives all this self-referential potty talk a delirious comic momentum".[44]
Accolades
Reynolds has received numerous nominations and awards for his portrayal of Wade Wilson / Deadpool.
Notes
- ^ a b c d This information is implied and depicted in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), set in the original timeline of the X-Men film series.
- ^ As depicted in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
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