Deadpool

Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is a spin-off in the X-Men film series and the eighth installment overall. Directed by Tim Miller (in his feature directorial debut) and written by the writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick,

It stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role alongside Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, and Brianna Hildebrand. In the film, Wade Wilson hunts the man who gave him mutant abilities and a scarred physical appearance, becoming the antihero Deadpool.

Development of a Deadpool film starring Reynolds began in February 2004, before he played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009. Reese and Wernick were hired for a spinoff in 2010, and worked with Reynolds to adapt the character more faithfully (including his fourth wall breaking) after the portrayal in Wolverine was criticized.

Miller was hired in 2011. An enthusiastic response to leaked test footage he created with Reynolds led to a green light from Fox in 2014. Additional casting began in early 2015, and filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, from March to May of that year. Several vendors provided visual effects for the film, ranging from the addition of blood and gore to the creation of the CGI character Colossus.

Deadpool was released in the United States on February 12, 2016, after an unconventional marketing campaign. The film achieved both financial and critical success. It earned $782 million against a $58 million budget, becoming the ninth-highest grossing film of 2016 and breaking numerous records, including the highest-grossing R-rated film at the time.

Critics praised Reynolds’ performance, the film’s style and faithfulness to the comics, along with its action sequences, though some criticized the plot as formulaic and were divided on the film’s adult humor. It received many awards and nominations, including two Critics’ Choice awards and two Golden Globe nominations.

A sequel, Deadpool 2, was released in 2018 to comparable critical and commercial success. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the character’s film rights were returned to Marvel Studios alongside the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Deadpool & Wolverine,

a third film starring Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, which will integrate the characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is scheduled for release on July 26, 2024, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Throughout the ambush, Wilson shows the viewer the events leading to how he became Deadpool. After being dishonorably discharged as a Canadian special forces operative, Wilson works as a freelance mercenary until he meets a prostitute named Vanessa.

They become romantically involved, and a year later she accepts his marriage proposal. Wilson is later diagnosed with terminal cancer and he leaves Vanessa without warning so she will not have to watch him die.

A mysterious recruiter approaches Wilson and offers him an experimental treatment for his cancer. He is taken to a laboratory run by Ajax and Angel Dust, who inject him with a serum designed to awaken latent mutant genes in his body. They subject Wilson to days of torture to trigger any mutation he may have, without success.

When Wilson discovers Ajax’s real name is Francis and mocks him for it, Ajax leaves Wilson in a hypobaric chamber that periodically takes him to the verge of asphyxiation over a weekend. This finally activates a regenerative healing factor that counteracts Wilson’s cancer, but leaves him severely disfigured with tumor-like scars over his entire body.

He escapes from the chamber and attacks Ajax, but relents when told that his disfigurement can be cured. In the chaos, Ajax subdues Wilson and leaves him for dead in the now-burning laboratory.

Wilson survives due to his new healing abilities and seeks out Vanessa. He does not reveal to her that he is alive out of fear that she will reject his new appearance. After consulting with his best friend Weasel, Wilson decides to hunt down Ajax for the cure. He becomes a masked vigilante, adopting the name “Deadpool” (from Weasel picking him in a dead pool), and moves into the home of an elderly blind woman named Al.

Over the course of the next year, he questions and kills many of Ajax’s associates until one, the recruiter, reveals Ajax’s whereabouts. This information allows Deadpool to enact the ambush. He kills all of Ajax’s henchmen, subdues Ajax himself, and demands the cure, but the X-Men Colossus and his trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead interrupt him.

Colossus attempts to convince Deadpool to mend his ways and join the X-Men, but Deadpool turns him down. Taking advantage of this distraction, Ajax escapes and regroups with Angel Dust. The two of them then head to Weasel’s bar, where Ajax hears of Vanessa.

Ajax kidnaps Vanessa and takes her to a decommissioned helicarrier in a scrapyard. In response Deadpool convinces Colossus and Negasonic to help him get her back. They battle Angel Dust and a group of Ajax’s men, while Deadpool fights his way to Ajax. During the battle, Negasonic accidentally destroys the supports keeping the helicarrier stable.

Deadpool protects Vanessa as the ship collapses all around them, while Colossus carries Negasonic and Angel Dust to safety. Ajax attacks Deadpool again, but is overpowered. He reveals a cure never existed to begin with, and despite Colossus’s pleas, Deadpool kills Ajax, though he does promise Colossus that he will try to be more heroic moving forward.

Vanessa then angrily berates Wilson for leaving her, but she reconciles with him after she sees his disfigured face and learns the real reason why he never came back to her.

In a post credits scene, Deadpool imitates the post credits scene of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, stating they only have enough money left to announce that Cable will show up in the sequel.