‘Deadpool 2’ Writers Don’t Want A Bigger Budget
Deadpool has been a bona-fide hit for 20th Century Fox. Since being released just over a week ago, the Marvel Comic adaptation has grossed a rather stunning $491.9 million and counting.
Because of this success, 20th Century Fox have instantly given the greenlight to a sequel to the superhero flick. And because the original was created on a shoe-string budget, which has even been speculated to be as low as around $50 million, it’s widely assumed that the filmmakers will be given carte-blanche with the sequel.
However, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who not only oversaw the original but have been tasked with doing so on the follow-up, too, have now admitted that they don’t want the budget for Deadpool 2 to be doubled or even, possibly, quadrupled.
Never let go. pic.twitter.com/pSkKP8iEse
— Deadpool Movie (@deadpoolmovie) February 17, 2016
In fact, the writing duo have admitted that they’d rather have a relatively low budget for the expected follow-up. According to Comic Book Movie, while talking about the expected budget increase for Deadpool 2, Paul Wernick insisted that he didn’t want one, explaining it wouldn’t fit in with the ethos of the character.
“We don’t want $150 million to go make the next movie,” Paul Wernick declared. “That’s not Deadpool. Deadpool doesn’t lift cities up into the air or battle aliens coming down to earth, that’s just not Deadpool. So we’re happy in that little small budget range that they have us in; we don’t wanna blow this next one out.”
It should be noted that Paul Wernick made this declaration before the release of Deadpool, which has now gone on to break several box office records since it was released just over a week ago. Deadpool has already recorded the biggest February opening day ever, broke the record for biggest R-rated opening of all time, and is now the biggest Fox opening, and highest ever opener for Ryan Reynolds, too.
Because of this success, there could be a temptation from 20th Century Fox to try and go bigger and better with Deadpool 2, which they’d achieve by throwing money at the sequel. While it’s true that Deadpool 2 might benefit from having a larger budget, especially since one aspect of the blockbuster that has been criticized are its action sequences, any changes should still be done in moderation and with respect to the character.
As the writers for Deadpool and its sequel mentioned, one of the reasons why Deadpool as a character and his film as a whole have been so popular with audiences is the outsider nature of the franchise. It feels different to the likes of The Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, or Man Of Steel. This “outsider” feel was helped along by its relatively measly budget, especially in comparison to the above franchises. Throwing money at the sequel would take away from the lessons learned from the original. However, the studio is still tasked with making something new and interesting out of Deadpool 2.
Finding a happy medium for the sequel’s budget will be important. However it’s also a rather good problem for the creative team behind Deadpool 2 to have, as it’ll force the team to come up with interesting solutions.
Cheers to the beginning of a wonderful friendship. pic.twitter.com/n34bJuJa9a
— Deadpool Movie (@deadpoolmovie) February 17, 2016
In fact, before the release of Deadpool, another story from the writing team emerged. Reportedly, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick revealed that 20th Century Fox gave them and director Tim Miller just 48 hours to remove $7 million from Deadpool’s budget, otherwise its release would be cancelled.
Obviously, they managed to make it happen. The critical and financial success of Deadpool is proof that, despite the restraints of their working conditions, the creative team was still able to flourish. Fans are still waiting for the official release date for Deadpool 2, but it’s expected 20th Century Fox will claim a date in the very near future.
[Image via 20th Century Fox]
