Deadpool won't cross over with X-Men... well, not yet anyway

As Deadpool celebrates its third weekend at the top of the box office, talk has turned to the antihero's place within the larger X-Men universe. Without a doubt, some of Deadpool's stand-out moments arise from his interactions with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. The question now is; might we see him alongside the main X-Men in the future?

In an interview with The Playlist, Deadpool writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese explain why we might not see that crossover for a while. "Deadpool’s now become a brand and franchise unto himself, independent of the X-Men and that’s great," says Wernick. "And that gives the studio two franchises in one, but I think it is its own franchise, and you’ll see synergy between those two properties, but they’re two very distinct brands."

"If you look at the Iron Man model they had two Iron Man [movies] before they had an Avengers, and if left up to us, I think that would be a very prudent path," adds Reese. "The second issue at hand is the X-Men universe timeline. The X-Men series is currently set in the 1980s, Deadpool, is set three decades later in our present day."

That continuity was the source of a terrific meta-joke from Deadpool when he's first confronted by Colossus and Negasonic, who try to lure him back to Professor X's school. "McAvoy or Stewart?" he asks, "These timelines are confusing."

By the sounds of it, that tangled timeline presents the biggest crossover hurdle. "It’s a timeline that will eventually catch up I would imagine," says Wernick, "But [X-Men producer] Simon [Kinberg’s] more the keeper of that universe and maybe we’ll see more X-Men playing in Deadpool’s sandbox and probably Deadpool playing in their sandbox at some point."

There you have it. It's probably going to happen but not until the time is right, which makes sense. Despite his recent popularity, not every moviegoer is familiar with the larger-than-life character, so keeping him separate from the main X-Men players is a smart move.

Nevertheless, the Merc with a Mouth's brand is still moving forward. Deadpool 2 will include his comic book buddy Cable, and the two scribes hint at the potential appearances of Wire, Sluggo and Garrison Kane in later sequels. And there's also the matter of an X-Force movie that Ryan Reynolds has stated is "a priority". As that team of rougher, tougher X-Men includes Deadpool and Cable, Reese and Wernick confirm that they will be "absolutely involved" in its development.

Images: Fox