Here's How 'Deadpool 2' Pulled Off That Big X-Force Moment
Deadpool 2 is loaded with surprises, including the way the film handles Deadpool's superhero team the X-Force. Without giving anything way just yet, let's just say the X-Force's appearance doesn't play out exactly as one might expect. Below, learn how Deadpool 2 went about handling its big X-Force moment. Beware of spoilers!
Big Deadpool 2 Spoilers Follow
Hey, guess what? You know Deadpool's big X-Force team, the team featured in all the trailers for the film? They die almost immediately in Deadpool 2. It's a funny scene (although the concept is lifted directly from MacGruber), but what really makes it work is how unexpected it is. The marketing team and everyone else involved with Deadpool 2 did a very good job of keeping this big twist a secret, and they did it through the fine art of misdirection. Over at UPROXX, director David Leitch and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick offer some insight on how this bit of trickery was handled.
David Leitch says the basic concept of killing off these characters right away was to "fuck with the audience through Deadpool's lens", and co-writer Rhett Reese adds that they actually shot additional scenes with the X-Force team for trailers, just to throw off the audience:
"One of the things we did, we asked the actors if they'd be willing to shoot extra footage – that indicated they were in more of the movie than we were actually going to use them in. So, Terry Crews and Bill Skarsgård and these guys all went out back in front of a green screen and did a bunch of fighting with stuntmen. And you see it in trailers. You see Bedlam kicking ass. They all stayed an extra half day to do that. It was awesome."
"When they came to set we shot additional material that we knew we were just going to put in trailers that would never be in the movie," says David Leitch. "It was all about playing a prank like only Deadpool would do. Ryan is reaching out from the screen and tickling you."
Paul Wernick goes on to say that at one point, they considered making character posters and standees for the X-Force, but decided that might be taking things too far. "The audience will be so mad," Wernick says.
If you're upset at the sudden deaths of the X-Force in Deadpool 2, don't worry too much. David Leitch is quick to point out that anything is possible in the Deadpool movies. In fact, in the Deadpool 2 post-credits scenes, Deadpool goes back in time to save one member of the X-Force – Peter, the non-superhero teammate played by Rob Delaney.
As Leitch puts it, if they ever want to bring other dead X-Force members back, they'll find a way: "They'll figure it out. It's just lazy writing, that's all you need."