While director Tim Miller’s Deadpool is very much connected to the larger X-Men universe, it also doesn’t really feature that much mutant action. While the franchise’s team films tend to feature a wide variety of special abilities demonstrated by various characters, the most recent solo film really only features two mutations on display: the titular anti-hero’s healing, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead’s explosions. This won’t be the same in the forthcoming Deadpool 2, however, as the writers/producers recently revealed to me that mutant powers is one area that will be expanded on in the sequel.
When I first spoke with Deadpool’s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick at the start of the month, they explained that the inclusion of Brianna Hildebrand’s Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the movie was particularly driven by the desire to have the blockbuster feature more superpowers. I had this in mind when I followed up with the filmmakers last week, and asked them if we would be seeing more varied power sets in Deadpool 2. Rhett Reese’s answer was fairly blunt, as things are still in early stages and there aren’t many details to be provided, but he did answer in the affirmative:
I do think that’s fair to say you’re going to get some more fun powers, and we don’t like to... I guess the best way to say it is that we like to see diverse mutant powers. So, I don’t think you’ll see like five strong characters, you know, super strong characters in the sequel. I think you’re going to see people with a diverse range of powers.
Deadpool includes a number of characters with mutant abilities, but the problem is that they aren’t necessarily the most on-the-surface powers. On the villain side, for example, are both Ajax and Angel Dust – but severed nerve endings and adrenaline control are powers that don’t really have a visual panache. And while Colossus is certainly a mutant, the fact that we never see him transform in and out of metal form lets the audience forget that to a certain extent. It’s nice to know that we will get to see a lot of different stuff in Deadpool 2 - particularly thanks to the inclusion of Cable.
Over the years, the total strength of Cable has most definitely varied, but when he’s at the top of his game he is really one of the most powerful beings on Earth. The son of Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey, he has absolutely extraordinary telepathic and telekinetic abilities – to the extent that at one time he kept a fully populated island floating in the air while simultaneously subconsciously manipulating the minds of everyone on Earth. So yes, he will be very different from every character featured in Deadpool - and that doesn’t even factor in his history with time travel and his big, hulking bionic arm.
With knowledge of the characters who run in Deadpool’s circles in Marvel Comics, who would you like to see arrive as new supporting characters in Deadpool 2? Hit the comments with your thoughts!
