Deadpool (film)

**Deadpool** is a 2016 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the thirty-second film in the universe. The film stars Ben Affleck, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Millie Bobby Brown, Stephen Merchant, Ed Skrein, Karl Urban, and Mark Wahlberg and was released worldwide on May 13, 2016. The film ran 107 minutes and grossed $643.3 million on a $150 million budget. The film was rated R for sci-fi action and violence, blood and gore, graphic nudity, and strong language.

## Plot

Set a few months after *X-Men: Age of Apocalypse*, Wade Wilson was a soldier in the United States Special Forces. However, after Wilson murdered an innocent Afghanistan bystander, Wilson was kicked out and charged with the murder. However, Wilson was able to lie his way out of the charges and was set free. Wilson, lost in life, was approached by Betty Braddock, a stripper, who revealed that he had been recruited to join the Weapon X program, which gave Wolverine his metal claws. Wilson agreed to join and was given accelerated healing factor. Wilson was trained in hand-to-hand combat and became a master swordsman. Wilson was given the codename Deadpool, and he joined the X-Force, a team of formerly normal people like him. Weapon X gave the X-Force the mission of finishing off the last of Hydra, including Red Skull, who had escaped from prison. The X-Force returned from a mission only to find their headquarters abandoned and discover Weapon X had disbanded, leaving the X-Force stranded. The team went their seperate ways.

A few months later, Wade and Betty have settled into a New York City apartment. Nathan Cable, a cyborg with telekinesis and telepathy, has isolated himself. Laura Kinney/X-23, a clone of Wolverine, has found Logan and is living with him, while Caliban, a mutant with superhuman strength and the ability to locate other mutants, has set up a black market of mutants, selling them to be slaves. However, when Red Skull orders an attack that kills Cable's girlfriend, he recruits his former teammates. The five agree to reform the X-Force, in addition to Wolverine. The six first go to an old Hydra base, where they find Bob, an agent of Hydra. Deadpool tortures Bob until he reveals Red Skull's location. Wolverine disapproves of Deadpool's tactics, though X-23 convinces him to stay. Cable and Caliban kill Bob after he helped them, causing Wolverine to quit. X-23 quits as well, joining Logan. Betty blames Cable and Caliban for causing X-23 and Logan to leave.

Wade returns home to find Betty has been kidnapped by Red Skull. Wade travels to her strip club, where he discovers her co-workers are Hydra agents. Getting into a fight, Wade is able to kill both of them and saves most of the club. Logan discovers X-23 has also been kidnapped and reunites with Wade, Caliban, and Cable to rescue their teammates. The team finds where Bob located them to, and rescue Betty and X-23. Red Skull nearly kills Caliban, but Betty saves him. Logan tries to return to the X-Mansion with X-23, though she reveals she is going to stay with the X-Force. Logan promises to help her and her team out when they need it. Wade and Betty get engaged, while Cable discovers he has a long lost brother.

## Cast

* Ben Affleck as Wade Wilson/Deadpool
* Maggie Gyllenhaal as Betty Braddock/Psylocke
* Hugh Jackman as Nathan Cable
* Millie Bobby Brown as Laura Kinney/X-23
* Stephen Merchant as Caliban
* Ed Skrein as Bob
* Karl Urban as Logan/Wolverine
* Mark Wahlberg as Red Skull

## Production

A film centered around the anti-hero Deadpool was put in development in 2011, with Colin Farrell attached to the role. However, by November, the film had entered development hell. By November 2012, Farrell had left the film after being cast in *Planet Hulk*. In June 2013, Ben Affleck entered negotiations to co-write and direct the film, in addition to starring as Wade Wilson/Deadpool. Affleck wrote the screenplay alongside Rhett Reese. Casting begun in September, with Affleck confirming his positions in the film. The film, in December, was revealed to feature the X-Force fighting the remaining Hydra operatives, with Mark Wahlberg reprising his role as Red Skull. In March 2014, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman were cast as Betty Braddock/Psylocke and Nathan Cable, both members of the X-Force. In May, Millie Bobby Brown, Stephen Merchant, and Ed Skrein were cast as Laura Kinney/X-23, Caliban, and Bob, Agent of Hydra, respectively. In June, Karl Urban rounded out the cast, announcing his reprisal of the Wolverine role in the film. Filming began on March 5, 2015 and concluded on June 19. The film was released on schedule, on May 13, 2016.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Deadpool* grossed $248.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $394.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $643.3 million.

### **Critical reception**

*Deadpool* holds an approval rating of 96% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 241 reviews and an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting *Deadpool* subverts superhero film formula with wildly entertaining—and decidedly non-family-friendly—results." On Metacritic, the film holds a normalized score of 81 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "universal acclaim." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale ranging from A+ to F.