With the X-Men franchise moving in several different directions at once, but still holding on to the films that started it all, one of the more confusing questions is where everything falls in the multiple timelines. Deadpool has found a solution. The writers of the Deadpool movies say that their solution to the timeline question is simple: ignore it and make jokes
What's nice is Deadpool exists in his own universe. He's part of the larger X-Men universe, but in a way he isn't. He interacts with that world but he is in the present. We don't deal with the '60s or the '70s or the future. It's here and now. More than anything, I think he's going to have his fun with what they do in the other franchise. But fortunately, we don't have to play by those same rules. Deadpool is a movie that did break all the rules. And I think we're going to continue to break those rules. That involves knowing that he's in a movie, talking to the audience, breaking that fourth wall, a characteristic that they established so brilliantly in the comics way back when. So yeah, I do think that timelines are something that we can make fun of and don't have to be slave to.
In the original Deadpool there was only one reference to the timelines of the X-Men movies and making a joke is exactly what happened. Colossus tells Deadpool that he's going to be brought to the Professor and Deadpool asks "McAvoy or Stewart?" The movie pokes fun at everything and it takes a sledgehammer to the fourth wall. Paul Wernick tells The Hollywood Reporter that this won't stop with Deadpool 2.
One of the things that fans have wondered is how much of a part Deadpool will have in the future of the Fox X-Men universe. Considering how popular he already is, it would certainly make sense for him to play a big role. However, in listening to what Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have to say, it sounds like the plan is for any future movies that include Deadpool, like the expected X-Force movie that will follow Deadpool 2, will remain "Deadpool movies" in their structure and tone.
This makes it sound like we won't be seeing the merc with a mouth show up in much of the rest of the universe. If Deadpool were to arrive in a proper X-Men movie it would mean making decisions regarding which timeline he was in and what decade the movies take place in. Making these decisions would clearly put too many restrictions on the character. The writers prefer the freedom of doing whatever they like.
Fans certainly loved Deadpool they way he turned out, so most will probably appreciate this perspective. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
