Drew Goddard to Write and Direct 'Deadpool' Spinoff 'X-Force'

'Deadpool,' X-Men spinoff 'X-Force' gets a new director: Drew Goddard

By Nick Hastings September 7, 2017

In February, we wrote that Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces) had been tabbed as writer and director for X-Force, a spinoff film featuring a group of Marvel antiheroes, including Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), Cable (Josh Brolin), and more.

Apparently, Carhanan must have left the project at some point because, on Thursday, Deadline reported that Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) will take over both duties for the film. Goddard, 42, has never directed a superhero movie, but the writer/director was attached to the planned Sinister Six spinoff before its cancelation.

Goddard is most recently known for being the showrunner for Daredevil, a Marvel-Netflix project which earned acclaim for its writing, tone, and lead performances. He also wrote The Martian — and was supposed to direct the film — before stepping aside and allowing Ridley Scott to take over.

Rumor has it that Reynolds will be involved in the writing process; the actor has been linked to the Deadpool character since 2004 when the character stated that his face resembled “Ryan Reynolds mixed with a shar-pei” in a comic book. For several years, Reynolds struggled to find a studio that would greenlight a Deadpool film, feeling that he was naturally suited to play the role.

X-Force functions similarly to the X-Men, except the team is more ruthless and cold-blooded. Reynolds’ Deadpool looks to be the group’s leader — or at least its most recognizable voice — with Cable likely to take on a senior officer-type role. Both characters (especially Deadpool, obviously) figure heavily in David Leitch’s Deadpool 2, which is currently set for a June 2018 release. X-Force represents yet another foray into the popular fictional universe; there have been eight X-Men films since 2002 and next year we will get X-Men: New Mutants in April, as well as X-Men: Dark Phoenix in November.

X-Force made its debut in 1991’s New Mutants No. 100. Apart from Deadpool and Cable, the list of superheroes and other characters associated with X-Force is lengthy and, as such, it’s difficult to predict which of these characters might appear in the film. Given that X-Force is a Marvel property, we expect to see Stan Lee in some sort of cameo role. It is also a safe bet that X-Force will be rated ‘R.’

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