Deadpool & Wolverine will see the heroes team up on film for the first time, but a canceled Marvel movie almost had Wade partner up way earlier.

Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson will finally make his official MCU debut in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, but the Merc with a Mouth almost starred in an X-Force team-up movie a decade ago. There’s little doubt that Reynold’s Deadpool is one of the most iconic actor-hero combinations of recent years, but it’s no secret that the pairing got off to a rough start. Wade played a role in the critically panned X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which dramatically changed the character and made him almost unrecognizable from the source material. Of course, the 2016 Deadpool movie corrected course in a new continuity.

However, Fox had earlier plans to make amends for botching the much-beloved character before his 2016 big-screen reboot. Of course, it’s impossible to know how well the movie would have turned out, but recently revealed plans tease an exciting Deadpool adventure with some major tweaks to his big-screen appearances so far. Deadpool& Wolverine may finally make good on a Deadpool team-up, but it could have happened much sooner.

Deadpool Almost Teamed Up With X-Force After X-Men Origins: Wolverine

In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wade Wilson, the man who would become Deadpool, is part of Logan’s special forces group. Portrayed by Ryan Reynolds but not canon to the later Deadpool movies, this first version of Wade is actually pretty close to the source material attitude. However, he’s eventually captured, experimented on, and turned into a voiceless drone with no discernible connection to what makes Deadpool such a beloved character.

The movie was so poorly received that it resulted in other planned “Origins” movies being canceled (prequels for Magneto and Storm were in the works), but Deadpool was set to star in another movie that would hopefully un-do the damage from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Writer Jeff Wadlow has spoken before about some elements of his X-Force movie, but he’s recently opened up again about how the movie would have handled Deadpool and his thoughts on the character’s maligned big-screen debut.

According to Wadlow in a Comic Book Movie interview, X-Force would have featured a group of “public school” mutants under the tutelage of a “dark mentor” version of Cable. Youngsters Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Domino, Rictor, and Feral would have been on the run across Texas. However, the person chasing them is surprising. In this version, Deadpool – wearing a more comic-accurate mask – would have been hired to hunt them down (before eventually changing allegiances later in the movie). From there, two more movies with Deadpool as a protagonist would have rounded out an X-Force trilogy.

How X-Force Would Have Changed Deadpool’s Cinematic History

It’s hard to say how Deadpool’s cinematic history would have changed had he starred in X-Force instead of 2016’s Deadpool. If nothing else, it’s safe to say the movie would have been a gamble. Deadpool is known and beloved for his quick wit and playful irreverence, and re-introducing him in another darker, gritty movie may have meant taking too long to get to the “good stuff.”

However, Wadlow seems to understand what was wrong with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, calling it, in the aforementioned interview, “a total abomination.” Even with Deadpool as the villain and the movie overall being a bit darker, it’s still possible Wade would have had his signature snark. However, tying him more closely to the rest of the Fox movie universe may have hurt his odds of surviving into the MCU as he is set to do.

The MCU Can Make Good On The Canceled X-Force Movie

Deadpool 2 included a very different version of the X-Force, this time a rag-tag team of characters led by Deadpool instead of hunted by him. The team consisted of Deadpool, Domino, Shatterstar, Bedlam, Zeitgeist, Vanisher, and a completely powerless human named Peter. The team dies horrifically almost instantly, but it appears at least some X-Force members are back in Deadpool & Wolverine (presumably saved by a time-traveling Deadpool at the end of Deadpool 2).

It’s unlikely that Deadpool’s previous X-Force team will carry over to the MCU, but X-Force does seem like fertile ground for a future movie if Reynolds sticks with the role past Deadpool & Wolverine. If Deadpool’s trilogy-closer is a financial and critical hit for Disney/Marvel Studios, they may actively pursue original angles for future projects. Given the MCU’s love of team-up movies, an X-Force adventure seems like a perfect fit.