Deadpool 2 Originally Had a Downer Ending

CBR

Deadpool 2 Originally Had Much More of a Downer Ending

By Renaldo Matadeen

Published May 20, 2018

The writers of Deadpool 2 address the finale of the film, and how it was changed so things didn't end on an overly depressing note for Wade Wilson.

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Deadpool 2, in theaters now.

Death is something that comic book movies rarely stick with. Fans are already expecting several of the casualties from Avengers: Infinity War to return in the sequel, but in the Deadpool movies, given how grimy and grounded it is, people usually stay dead.

However, director David Leitch passed up the opportunity to do just that in Deadpool 2, bringing Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) back to life at the end of the film, after she was killed in front of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). The Merc with a Mouth used time-travel to save her, and the writers admitted that while this was a "tough" choice, they wanted to give Deadpool a happy ending; something they didn't originally have in the script.

"We originally did not save her," co-writer Rhett Rheese said in an interview with CBR. "It was interesting — we thought we might have to save her with the time machine, because the audience would be mad at us, but they were accepting of her being dead."

Rheese revealed that while some fans may have been ticked at Vanessa's resurrection, it did fit with the spontaneous and comedic nature of the franchise, even creating room for her to evolve into Copycat, as per the comic books. "Now we can bring her back as Copycat, and Morena [Baccarin] was very thrilled when she got the call. 'We got the time machine working, and you’re still alive!' 'I knew it!' It was really funny," he added.

Co-writer Paul Wernick did admit Vanessa had to die to break Wade's spirit at the beginning of the film. But he also confessed that because there weren't many females characters, and because Vanessa's relationship with Wade was "the emotional core" of the movie, they had to find a way to bring her back to life.

"It was a difficult decision, but one, story-wise, that we felt we had to make," Wernick said regarding her death at the hands of some gangsters. "And then we got to have our cake and eat it too by bringing her back to life at the very end."

Directed by David Leitch, Deadpool 2 stars Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder, with newcomers Zazie Beetz as Domino, Josh Brolin as Cable and Julian Dennison as Russell. The film is playing in theaters everywhere.