While everybody is pretty much in agreement that Deadpool was a fantastic movie, there was one thing that even it could not do, actually: make us forget the abomination that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. To be fair, Deadpool went out of its way to remind us of that hot mess of a movie. However, all that means for those involved is that they will never not be asked about that movie. Such was the case recently when the man who played Weapon XI (we're not calling him Deadpool) was asked about it. Scott Adkins took the opportunity to offer an apology of sorts, but he also made it clear that none of that was his idea.
Part of what made the experience of Weapon XI in X-Men Origins: Wolverine so terrible was that, at first, everything looked so good. Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson is as good in his opening scenes as he was in the eventual Deadpool movie. However, at the end, not only is the guy we see not Deadpool, it's also not Ryan Reynolds. The Weapon XI version of the character was actually played by actor Scott Adkins, likely because his experience with martial arts made the fight scene easier for the filmmakers. The Huffington Post asked Adkins about the movie and, while the man took responsibility for his part, he blamed the studio for everything else.
I was part of the problem. I was part of the abomination of that character. ... I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you and all your readers that it wasn't my idea. I was doing what I was told by 20th Century Fox.
We don't think anybody was truly blaming Scott Adkins for what happened the last time around. He's an actor on a set and was barely more than a stuntman considering the limited focus of the character. The studio would never have listened to the him, even if he had numerous terrible suggestions for how to handle the part. At the end of the day, the studio is responsible for what ends up on the screen. They get to make those decisions and they get to take the credit when they work, but they also have to take the blame when they fail.
Scott Adkins hasn't given up entirely on comic book movies as he has a role in Marvel's upcoming Doctor Strange. The good news is that, since Marvel Studios is overseeing this one, it's highly unlikely they'll be making such radical changes to the characters.
