Drew Goddard Deadpool 2 X-Force

This article will include spoilers for ‘Deadpool 2’. If you have yet to see the film, go buy a ticket and come back to this later. We’ll still be here. I promise.

The pre-release hype for ‘Deadpool 2‘ told us in no uncertain terms that the film would be taking steps to set up the long-awaited ‘X-Force’ movie, even going so far as to introduce the team. But while the film did do exactly that, it did so in a rather unexpected fashion, gruesomely dispatching the team mere minutes after it was assembled.

This being a ‘Deadpool’ movie, we probably should have seen that coming.

In any case, this presents a wrinkle of sorts, with this surprising slaughter essentially meaning that the team’s lineup is up in the air. While the film’s time travel-fueled post-credits scenes leave the fates of at least some members (not to mention a great deal of the movie’s events) up in the air, it’s also probably best not to read too much into the jokes those stingers are obviously intended as. Or do we really want to believe that these movies take place in a world without Ryan Reynolds?

But Goddard, who in addition to being tasked with ‘X-Force’ served as a script consultant alongside ‘Deadpool 2’ co-writers Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds, wasn’t exactly left in the dark about this little speedbump. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Goddard recalls his reaction to the mid-movie massacre:

“To be honest, I think that’s why it excited me so much. I remember reading that scene and just cackling with delight, specifically because it was the very last thing you’d expect to happen in one of these movies. These movies are so careful to set up the next thing and the next thing, and it made me so happy.”

But just what does this mean for ‘X-Force’? While we may not be seeing a return appearance by Bedlam, there are at least a few characters left to populate the team. And while Goddard is not yet ready to reveal the full lineup that he has in mind, he did confirm just who will be at the core of the team:

“It really all stems from a place of love; I love those comics, I love Ryan, I love Josh, and I love Zazie Beetz. When I think of the comics, I think of Cable and Domino and Deadpool, and it’s really just knowing, “Oh, right, there’s a world in the X-Universe for the blunt instruments of mutantdom.” It’s much more about the characters and my love for them than it is about any plot or story line. It’s more about loving them and wanting to see them bounce off each other.”

Work on ‘X-Force’ is set to begin in earnest later this year, when writer/director Drew Goddard’s schedule allows him to focus his attention on the script. ‘Deadpool 2’ is now playing in theaters everywhere.