Superhero movie crossovers are so hot right now — just look at Captain America: Civil War. The X-Men franchise could employ the strategy as well, and the mouthy anti-hero Deadpool seems like a perfect candidate after his standalone film’s recent box office success. Bryan Singer, who has produced and directed several X-Men films, recently talked to Variety about the possibility, and it sounds like it’s definitely on the table.
Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds) first appeared in the ill-fated 2009 spinoff X-Men Origins: Wolverine before getting a much-needed reboot for his own standalone movie. Even with an R-rating, the film proved to be a massive box office draw, raking in $362.23 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo. That number blows 2000’s X-Men, 2003’s X2, and 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past out of the water. The highest-grossing of the trio (Days of Future Past) earned $233.92 million in U.S. ticket sales, per Box Office Mojo.
Should Deadpool cross over, the character seems poised to expand the commercial appeal of the X-Men franchise. Singer told Variety that “there’s plenty of room to do it,” but he clearly thinks that such a project would need to proceed with caution.
“If you take a character as irreverent and meta as Deadpool and connect him to something as grounded and serious as X-Men, you have to do it carefully and gently,” said Singer. “When you drop them all in together, it can be a disaster.”
From a storyline standpoint at least, there are logical ways to join them. The character appears in the X-Force comics, which are an offshoot of the X-Men. In fact, Reynolds has already mentioned a project focusing on the superhero group, according to Variety.
Frankly, an X-Men–Deadpool crossover seems not only possible but inevitable. The real question may be whether or not Singer will be a part of it, as there have been rumors that he plans to leave the franchise. He didn’t confirm anything, but he assured Variety that it would be hard to leave behind.
Whether or not the director is involved, the crossover possibilities are intriguing and we’re eager to see what comes of it. In the meantime, there’s a Deadpool sequel in the works, and X-Men: Apocalypse is due out May 27.
