After last weekend’s successful release of 20th Century Fox’s boldly melancholic gore-fest Logan, the X-Men Cinematic Universe and its producers are getting ready for its next evolution.
In an interview with Deadline, X-Men film producer Simon Kinberg let mutant fans know what is coming next for the franchise, including the confirmation of a future appearance from our favorite “Merc with the Mouth”, and his yet to be cast partner Cable, beyond the anticipated Deadpool sequel.
Kinberg stated, “We are working hard on New Mutants, Gambit with Channing Tatum, Deadpool 2 and the new X-Force movie where Deadpool is alongside Cable and other main characters. X-Force, which is a combination of Deadpool, and Cable –they’re like the Black ops of the X-Men. They’re much darker and have an R-rated decibel. There are other X-Men characters coming into X-Force at different times in the comic, but it’s separate from X-Men.”
Little information beyond Kinberg’s word regarding the X-Force film has been confirmed. Speculations have included Joe Carnahan being courted to direct and Ryan Reynolds to co-write, but Fox has yet to confirm any of it.
Along with X-Force, Cable is set to appear in Deadpool 2, but no actor has been cast yet. Recent rumors have brought up names such as Russell Crowe, Stanger Things’ David Harbour, and Stephen Lang. Deadpool’s own post-credits suggestions of Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, and Keira Knightley have yet to be confirmed either.
Garnered by the successes of 2016’s original Deadpool and the recent Logan, it is evident by Kinberg’s interview and the amount of Deadpool appearances slated that 20th Century Fox is now wide open to the R-rated comic book film business, and audiences thank them for it.