Yes, That's X-Force In The New 'Deadpool 2' Trailer, But Who's On The Team?
This morning brought a new Deadpool 2 trailer to the web, and with it came the surprise reveal of a new team of mutants who have yet to be seen on the big screen: the X-Force.
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, there's a shot of Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) standing in the opening of a cargo door on a helicopter...and there are a few other characters standing with him. One of them is Zazie Beetz as Domino, but we've never seen the other three characters before, at least not in movie form. So, who are these characters? Let's pinpoint who's who when it comes to the X-Force in Deadpool 2.
What is X-Force?
In Marvel Comics, X-Force is a team of mutants formed by Cable (played by Josh Brolin in Deadpool 2), who basically took the New Mutants and molded them into something new. Domino was part of that team, but she already had a history with Cable in another group of mutant mercenaries called Wild Pack, which later went on to be called Six Pack due to another group being called Wild Pack elsewhere in the Marvel Comics universe.
Clearly, the movie might be taking some liberties with the origins of X-Force, since they're all teamed up with Deadpool here. But creator Rob Liefeld confirmed on Instagram that this is indeed the X-Force squad in the trailer.
However, there's a long history and a big roster of members for both X-Force and Wild Pack/Six Pack, with several of them being on both teams. In looking at the characters who might be part of the crew we see int he Deadpool 2 trailer, it appears there might be a mix of X-Force and Six Pack members working with the Merc with a Mouth and his new mutant friend, Domino. The only problem is we're not entirely sure who each character is, though we have some educated guesses to make.
Who Is Terry Crews Playing?
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the character standing to the right of Deadpool appears to be Terry Crews (seen above in Expendables 2), and we're pretty confident in that assessment, too. The question is, who is he playing? The answer is a bit more complicated because there are a few options.
George Washington Bridge
The most popular guess seems to be that Terry Crews is playing George Washington Bridge (or G.W. Bridge). In the comics, Bridge is a former member of Six Pack who later goes on to become a commander at SHIELD. Sometimes, he's an ally of Deadpool, but he's also been at odds with the mouthy mercenary as well. However, it's interesting to note that at one point, Bridge was tasked with capturing Cable when he was believed to be killing SHIELD agents, so it would make sense to have him working with Deadpool against Cable.
If the character in this shot is Bridge, don't expect to hear anything about him working with SHIELD in this movie since 20th Century Fox isn't allowed to mention them in their movies (even with the impending purchase of the studio by Disney). However, it wouldn't be the first time Deadpool snuck some SHIELD mythology into the franchise, since the finale of the first movie took place on an abandoned helicarrier.
Garrison Kane
Another possible (though seemingly less likely) option is Garrison Kane. This character is white in the comics, but swapping the race out wouldn't be out of the question. Like G.W. Bridge, Kane was a member of Six Pack, and he might have an axe to grind with Cable.
In the comics, Kane was held hostage by a villain named Stryfe (a clone of Cable) in order to retrieve a disk that Cable had. Cable refused to hand it over, and Kane ended up losing his arms and legs in the battle that followed. He eventually was sent back to the past to have his limbs replaced with cybernetic parts in the Weapon X program.
This doesn't seem like the best option since there don't seem to be any cybernetic limbs on the character in this trailer. But of course, Crews could still be playing a version of Kane who doesn't have those replacement limbs, but still has a troubled history with Cable.
Hammer
Another mutant who worked with Cable in the Six Pack, Hammer was involved with the same mission that saw Garrison Kane injured, but Cable is even more directly responsible for hurting him. In order to keep the aforementioned data disc in his possession, Cable shot him in the back, leaving him paralyzed.
Hammer later recovered and tried to team up with other Six Pack members to kill Cable. Considering that he's supposed to be the villain of Deadpool 2, it would stand to reason that he would be around in the trailer.
Bedlam
This option is a little more out of left field, if only because it's the only character not created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza. Bedlam arrived later in X-Force's history, but has a history with Domino, who helped him find his brother. Terry Crews is likely too old to play this character since he's introduced in his late teens/early 20s, but the X on his tactical shirt does resemble some of the looks Bedlam has had in the comics, and the color scheme works, too.
Who Are Those Other Two Characters?
In addition to Terry Crews in the foreground with Deadpool and Domino, there are two other characters who are a little more obscured. We're pretty sure we know the identity of one of these characters, but the other one is a little more ambiguous.
Shatterstar
We're pretty sure this is the character we see to the right of Deadpool. While there were several characters from the 1990s run of X-Men comics who had unnecessary headgear, Shatterstar also had big hair that stuck out the top of it and white armor. The character in the shot from the trailer certainly fits that description, and the trailer also features a quick shot of swords that clearly don't belong to Deadpool.
Shatterstar has a complicated origin involving a temporal paradox, genetic engineering and another dimension called the Mojoverse. We can't imagine any of that will be mentioned in the movie, but the character is also one of the original members of X-Force, so it only makes sense that he would be part of the first big screen version of the team. Shatterstar's abilities include sending shockwaves through his swords, teleporting empathically, and other common superhuman traits among mutants.
Rictor
With Shatterstar likely being part of Deadpool 2, it would make sense if Rictor was the other team member on the helicopter. Rictor is a mutant who once believed Cable was responsible for his father's death, when in reality it was Cable's clone Stryfe who was behind it. This eventually led him to team up with X-Force, where he met Shatterstar and struck up a close friendship with the mutant that turned into a secret romance.
Rictor has the ability to manipulate seismic energy, which could come in handy. Plus, one of his signature traits for awhile was a green scarf. And while the character seen to the left of Deadpool above doesn't have a green scarf, he does have some kind of green accessory in front of the lower half of his face which could stand as a tribute to one of his earliest designs.
If the other character is Rictor, it would be the first time gay superheroes were included in a major comic book movie, which would be pretty cool.
Solo
This option doesn't feel as likely as Rictor, but Solo is a special forces trained teleporter who was hired by G.W. Bridge to join the Six Pack alongside mutants Hammer, Domino, Anaconda and Constrictor to take down Cable. That's really the only thing that would make him a good fit for that other background character, not to mention the fact that he traditionally wore green tactical gear.
Will X-Force Have a Big Role in the Movie?
One thing to consider is whether X-Force will even have a big role in the movie. After all, there's supposed to be an X-Force movie coming in the next few years, and it would be rather surprising to hear of someone like Terry Crews being in Deadpool 2 without any word getting out beforehand. That could indicate that X-Force doesn't play a big part in the movie.
In fact, it wouldn't be out of the question for this moment to be nothing more than a cutaway gag to tease fans. You can easily hear Deadpool making some kind of off-hand remark about forming a team and mocking the slow-motion badass walk all superhero groups seem to do in movies. Plus, if it's just a bit part, that would explain why no spoilers have leaked about these characters being part of the movie.
Deadpool 2 opens on May 18, 2018.