The first Deadpool movie hit theaters back in 2016 to massive fan and critical acclaim. Directed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds, the film shattered box office records for a February release and nearly single-handedly showed that Marvel Studios wasn't the only company that could make a successful comic book movie that was faithful to the source material. Naturally, a sequel was soon given the green light.

Twentieth Century Fox quickly opted to bring back the winning creative team of the first film, spearheaded by Reynolds and Miller. However, early in the pre-production stage of the sequel, creative differences between the director and star of the film reached an impasse. At that point, Tim Miller departed the project, with John Wick's David Leitch stepping in to replace him as director. Deadpool 2 finally hit theaters earlier this summer, with Cable and Domino joining the Merc with a Mouth's mission to save Firefist from himself. Deadpool 2 brought back the X-Men cast from the original and expanded upon it with the introduction of X-Force.

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However, this past weekend, concept artist Alexander Lozano shared some of the artwork he had drawn for Tim Miller's version of Deadpool 2 before the creator left the project. Not only did the artwork feature comic book-accurate looks for Cable and Domino, it also revealed that the Fantastic Four were supposed to appear in the film. Knowing this, we can't help but wonder what Miller's Deadpool 2 might have been like -- and, more importantly, could it have brought redemption to Fox's much maligned Fantastic Four franchise?

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Fox hoped to renew interest in the Fantastic Four with Josh Trank's moody, angsty take on the superhero family back in 2015. However, the film ended up being marred by extensive re-shoots that greatly altered the plot and length of the film. When the movie was finally released, it received abysmal reviews and was almost instantly despised by fans. The studio interference led to a disconnected final product that appeared both rushed and soulless, with the special magic that makes the Fantastic Four what they are nowhere to be found.

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If there was one thing that almost everyone could agree upon, it was that Fox's Fantastic Four had a solid cast that simply lacked great material. With Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller and Jamie Bell as the titular foursome, the film's cast was its one bright spot. There was no doubt that, given the right material, these four could have soared to great heights as the Fantastic Four. So was it possible for Miller to finally give the cast of that film a chance at redemption? It's quite possible.

There is no way to know for certain what size the Fantastic Four's role would have been in Miller's un-produced film. Deadpool is a character who breaks the fourth wall on a dime and who pokes fun at other superhero franchises, meaning that some believe the Fantastic Four would have only had a cameo appearance to be the butt of a joke. However, given that a concept artist was already working on the super-team's new costumes early in the pre-production of Miller's film, it's possible Marvel's First Family of Superheroes would have had a supporting role, much in the same way the X-Men had in the first Deadpool.

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If that is the case, then it's likely Miller could have fixed the mistakes of the Fantastic Four film and given fans an interpretation of the quartet that would have been faithful to the source material. After all, if there is one thing Miller showed above all else, it was that he could make a compelling film that honored the comics. His Deadpool leapt from the comic page to the screen, and although he was only allowed to use two X-Men characters in Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, the director gave fans the best X-Men movie to date.

There's no doubt that Miller would have been able to give the Fantastic Four the same treatment. If the cast of Trank's Fantastic Four would have appeared in Deadpool 2 with the costumes Lozano drew, and if Miller course-corrected the depiction of the super-team to be one of an adventurous family, the sequel could have easily given a second life to Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny on the big screen. Not only that, it would also have cemented Fox's version of a shared cinematic universe, while opening the doors for a proper Fantastic Four sequel that could have turned into the movie fans had always wanted to see.

RELATED: The Marvel Universe Welcomes the Fantastic Four Home in October

Fox once gave us a terrible and despised version of Deadpool (in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) -- and yet, fans were willing to ignore it and accept the character's faithful portrayal in his solo movie. The same could have easily happened for the Fantastic Four. But since Miller never got to make that film, we'll never find out what he could have done with the franchise.


Directed by David Leitch, Deadpool 2 stars Ryan Reynolds, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapičić, and Karan Soni, with newcomers Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin and Julian Dennison. The film is available now on digital HD and will be released Aug. 21 on Blu-ray and DVD.