This is a big year in theaters for Fox’s X-Men universe, with both Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse set for release. Both films feature mutants who are particularly skilled with swords. But which one is the better swordmaster? We won’t need to wait for the eventual movie crossover to answer that question. The challenge has already been issued. Check out who won in the video below.
We’ve seen over the last several months the amount of physical training that Olivia Munn has put herself through in order to get ready for her role as Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse. This Instagram video shows that she has really learned how to handle that sword remarkably well. Ryan Reynolds? Not so much. We can't say we've heard a great deal about his extensive training. Apparently this is what happens when you phone in the sword practice. Although, to be fair, we expected little else from the actor who has been bringing the funny repeatedly as we get closer and closer to Deadpool’s release. It’s the lunge that makes it art. He wants to hit her with his balloon sword, but he’s too afraid to get any closer to her than he already is. And actually, if we were scoring this based on fencing rules, Reynolds did get a touch in, which is actually more than we can say for Olivia Munn.
While Deadpool will be setting itself apart from pretty much every superhero movie ever made when it comes out on Friday, it’s important to remember that Deadpool is taking place within the X-Men universe. He will exist in the same world that we see when the X-Men return to the screen later this year. Psylocke and Deadpool may know each other, although they’re very likely not friends, at least not yet. They have been colleagues in the X-Force comics before. Is this a signal of things to come? There have been talks about following up Deadpool with an X-Force movie, so maybe we’ll see these two on screen together before too long. The more successful both films are, the more likely something like that becomes.
In the end, this video gives us the perfect microcosm of everything we want to see in these two films. We want to see mutants kicking ass in X-Men: Apocalypse, and we want to see Ryan Reynolds make us laugh in Deadpool. They certainly have the requisite skills. X-Men: Apocalypse will be out in May. Deadpool arrives this Friday.
