Deadpool 2 ending was changed following "upset" reactions to Vanessa’s death

Morena Baccarin as Vanessa in Deadpool 2
(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Deadpool 2 star Morena Baccarin has revealed that the movie's game-changing post-credits scene, which reverses the death of her character, wasn't a part of the original script.

Released in 2018, Deadpool 2 sees Wade Wilson's world turned upside down when his girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle is killed by a vengeful missed target of his. His grief takes a backseat, however, when he's tasked with protecting a young mutant named Russell from Cable, a time-traveling mercenary.

In a new interview with Syfy, Baccarin revealed that Vanessa's death was intended to be permanent. But when test audiences voiced their "upset" over her being killed off to further a male character’s storyline, director David Leitch organized a last-minute reshoot. 

"I feel like I got a call from David Leitch one day, and he was just like: 'You know, your [scenes] with Ryan [Reynolds] are testing so well in this movie, and people are getting so upset [online] that she's dead, so we're gonna have to leave the door open for her to possibly come back,'" she told the publication.

Luckily the plot revolved around time travel, and so Leitch, Reynolds, and Baccarin filmed a post-credits montage that saw Wade go back and save Vanessa before she was killed. 

In the comics, Vanessa becomes the superhero Copycat, and actually goes on to work alongside Deadpool. In the films, she's only ever really been Wade’s love interest. But now that she's confirmed to still be alive, there's always a chance that could change in the future.

"It would be fun to see her transform for sure, but I would just be thrilled to come back in any form for those movies because it was such a blast to work on," Baccarin told AV Club back in 2019, when it was confirmed that a third film was in development.

While we wait to see if Vanessa does ever adopt the Copycat title on screen, check out our ranked list of the best superhero movies of all time.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.