Deadpoolsurprised everybody this year when the scrappy. long-developed R-ratedX-Menspinoff hit a home run at the box office, became a pop culture sensation, and against all expectation, earned the highest box office returns of anyX-Menmovie to date. Naturally, 20th Century Fox was quick to moving on the sequel, but the highly-anticipated sequel ran into some surprising turmoil when directorTim Millerdropped out over creative differences withRyan Reynolds. ComposerJunkie XLfollowed off the project soon after .
But according to aTHRexpose on the status of Fox’sX-Menempire, the studio is still full-steam ahead on the Merc with a Mouth, and they’re already developingDeadpool 3. Not only that, the third installment will reportedly feature X-Force, the team of superheroes most famously led by Deadpool’s frienemy Cable.
The creative forces behind Fox’sX-Menfranchise have made it clear that X-Force is a major contender for big screen adaptation for a while now, with Reynolds in particularsingling it out as a personal priority. Previous reports indicated that X-Force would receivea film of its own– a logical next step after introducing Cable inDeadpool 2, as is reportedly the plan – but it’s possible that the studio wants to hedge their bets by attaching their new team of mutants to their most popular player left in their arsenal.
The truth is that these plans are probably in a pretty lose state at the moment as theX-Menuniverse as a whole is currently in a state of flux. As the THR report lays out, Fox finds themselves at a bit of a crossroads with their long-running mutant verse, which has earned them more than $4 billion, worldwide.Bryan Singer’sX-Men: Apocalypsewas critically panned and saw a sharp box office drop from its predecessor, earning only $544 million worldwide toDays of Future Pasts' $748. On top of that,X-MenstarsJennifer Lawrence,James McAvoy,Michael FassbenderandNicholas Houlthave reached the end of their three-picture contracts, and if the studio wants them to re-up, it’s going to be costly. They now have to decide if those contract negotiations would be worth the price considering the diminishing box office returns.
At the same time,Hugh Jackmanis in the midst of filming his final turn as Wolverine forJames Mangold’sLogan, and without Jackman and theirFirst Classensemble, the franchise’s star-power boils down to Reynolds' unlikely savior, Deadpool. The studio was eyeingChanning Tatum’sGambitas the possible leading man to carry the franchise in Jackman’s absence, but that project has faced its own set of problems, failing to get in front of cameras on schedule and losing directorDoug Liman.
Gambitis expected to get back on track with a new director after Channing Tatum wraps onLogan Lucky, and Fox also hasJosh Boone’s young adult-orientedThe New Mutantsin the chamber, but it will be fascinating to watch how the franchise that helped kick-start the superhero trend evolves from here.
