Like all sequels, it promises to be bigger, better, and crasser (wait, maybe that last one isn’t quite so universal) than the first film, and also features one major new addition: Josh Brolin’s time-travelling soldier Cable, Deadpool’s long-suffering frenemy in the comics.
Blu-ray release date and special features
If you’re in the US, you can buy the digital release now or grab the DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. If you’re in the UK like us then here’s the digital release, and head here for the disc versions. If you buy either the Blu-ray or 4K edition you’ll get the ‘Super Duper $@%!#& Cut’, which adds an extra 15 minutes of footage cut from the original theatrical cut. That’s not all though, as the cast and crew revealed at San Diego Comic-Con that this is actually an alternate cut of the film that includes different versions of many of the film’s jokes, meaning this is actually an entirely different version of the film, rather than a mere extended cut. There are at least two genuine deleted scenes making the new cut though, which got a big response from the Comic-Con crowd. One just shows Deadpool enjoying some downtime in the X-Mansion along with some of his co-stars, with a few silly jokes along the way, but the other is more controversial: it’s an extension to the end-credits that sees Deadpool go back in time to kill baby Hitler. Yup. At least you can’t say they’re playing it safe. Here are the rest of the bonus features for the release, though as always remember that features may vary by market:
Gag ReelDeadpool’s Fun Sack 2Stills (28 Images)Audio Commentary by Ryan Reynolds, David Leitch, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Theatrical Version Only)Deleted/Extended ScenesUntil Your Face Hurts: Alt TakesDeadpool’s Lips are Sealed: Secrets and Easter EggsThe Most Important X-Force MemberDeadpool Family Values: Cast of CharactersDavid Leitch Not Lynch: Directing DP2Roll with the Punches: Action and StuntsThe Deadpool Prison ExperimentChess with Omega RedSwole and Sexy3-Minute Monologue
PG-13 Cut: Once Upon a Deadpool
Deadpool is famously R-rated (think 15 in the UK), which is part of what’s made the two films stand out in the crowded superhero market. That doesn’t mean that Fox doesn’t want to tap into the family market though, so the studio is releasing a special PG-13 (think 12A) cut of the film in the US just in time for Christmas. Titled ‘Once Upon a Deadpool’, the new cut is expected to hit US cinemas on 12 December 2018, with the UK getting it one day early on 11 December. There’ll be a charitable element too though, with $1 of every ticket sale going to the charity Fudge Cancer (we’ll let you guess what it was called before the appropriate PG-13 renaming).
Ryan Reynolds teased the re-release with a photo of him reading a Deadpool children’s book to an adult Fred Savage – a la The Princess Bride – which will be part of a new framing device added to the film to make up for all the swearing and violence the studio is having to take out. Watch some of that in action in the trailer for the new cut:
Cast and crew
Unsurprisingly, Ryan Reynolds is returning for his lead role as Deadpool himself, a.k.a. Wade Wilson. He’s joined by a load of other familiar faces: Morena Baccarin as Vanessa; T.J. Miller as tech guru Weasel; Brianna Hildebrand as the brilliantly named Negasonic Teenage Warhead; Stefan Kapicic as Colossus; and even Karan Soni as the taxi driver Dopinder. There are a few new faces too though. The big one is Josh Brolin, fresh out of his first proper appearance as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War when he rocks up here as Cable, a time-travelling soldier from the future with a metal arm and a soft spot for comically large guns. Comics fans will recognise the legendary Cable/Deadpool pairing, with the brusque Cable rarely putting up with Deadpool’s nonsense for long. He’s not the only person joining the cast though. Zazie Beetz is joining as Domino, a mutant assassin with the power to alter probabilities in her favour, while the potty-mouthed Julian Dennison (from the brilliant Hunt for the Wilderpeople) will be making his Hollywood debut. The film’s first full trailer ( which you can see below) also gave away a whole host of unexpected cast members in new parts as members of the new team X-Force. For one, there’s the legendary Terry Crews as Bedlam, but he’s also joined by Bill Skarsgard (fresh from playing Pennywise in It), and even comedian Rob Delaney in one of his first major film appearances – as the completely non-powered Roger, who somehow manages to join the team regardless. Behind the scenes, the script once again comes from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who jointly wrote the first film, but there’s been a bit of a shift in the director’s chair. Original director Tim Miller left the project amid rumours of budget squabbles, but was quickly replaced by David Leitch – no bad thing, as he co-directed John Wick and was in charge of last year’s Atomic Blonde, proving he’s more than capable of handling Deadpool’s frenetic action.
Photos and posters
Unsurprisingly, given the marketing campaign for the first film, there have been loads of stills and posters for Deadpool 2 so far. First up, there was this brilliant illustrated poster for Thanksgiving 2017:
That’s not the only hand-drawn image for the film – there’s also this charming depiction of Deadpool and Cable dubbed ‘The Second Coming’:
The most recent proper poster came alongside the first full trailer, and sees Deadpool going full Flashdance on us:
Outside of the actual posters, the film’s producers have also given us great looks at the two biggest new characters in some official photos. First up, here’s our best look yet at Cable (aside from the trailer):
And here’s Zazie Beetz as Domino, cribbing a pose from Deadpool himself:
Watch the trailers
The Deadpool 2 marketing campaign kicked off in earnest way back in March 2017 – more than a year ahead of the film’s release, with a short film titled ‘No Good Deed’ that served as part Deadpool 2 teaser, and part promo effort for the release of the Wolverine solo film Logan.
After that, there was a gap of a good few months before we got our first actual footage from the film: a very brief montage at the end of another surreal teaser parodying the painter Bob Ross.
Our next footage was, once again, nothing from the film at all: instead it was a silly clip from Reynolds to promote a tattoo stunt at the Brazil Comic-Con.
The next closest thing to an actual trailer for the movie arrived in February, though even this couldn’t resist pausing halfway through for a diversion. Still, at least we got our first proper look at Cable in action, even if there are virtually no plot hints at all.
Finally, after all that, in March 2018 the Deadpool 2 publicity team unveiled an actual, honest-to-god trailer. A proper one. It even says ‘trailer’ in the YouTube title and everything.
That was followed surprisingly quickly by the final trailer, which built on the previous one with an even bigger focus on the new X-Force team, showing off a few of their powers and personalities along with the usual assortment of very meta jokes:
Of course, the Deadpool 2 marketing team were never likely to keep things straight forward for long, and they quickly got weird again, with this music video for a song from the film’s soundtrack, provided by, uh, Celine Dion. Somehow.
And the Deadpool 2 marketing just will not stop. Now the campaign has brought in none other than David Beckham, by way of apology for one of the many, many throwaway jokes from the first film, which just happened to mock his voice.
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he’s a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
