Two Major Elements Of Deadpool & Wolverine Were In The Script Right From The Get-Go

After the success of the first "Deadpool," 20th Century Fox immediately began planning a trilogy, with the original idea being for the X-Force to feature prominently in the third film. Of course, "Deadpool 2" ended up being kind of about X-Force, and by the time that movie was released, Disney had already announced the acquisition of 20th Century Fox. This also meant going back to the drawing board for "Deadpool 3."

Still, this didn't stop Ryan Reynolds from trying to make the third "Deadpool" movie happen, as brainstorming on that movie started before "Deadpool 2" opened in theaters. Many of the early concepts for "Deadpool 3" were eventually scrapped, like making it a Sundance-sized road trip movie with Dopinder or a bad remake of "Thor: The Dark World." Still, certain elements struck around and even made their way into the final version, i.e. "Deadpool & Wolverine."

Speaking with The New York Times, director Shawn Levy talked about the disparate elements that were present even before Wolverine entered the picture. "One of the bigger ones includes this notion of Wade going through a midlife malaise and selling used cars," Levy explained. "This was a guy who had given up on his better self and was living a life of compromise. That survived through the Wolverine iteration of this movie, as did the imperative of having Wade's chosen family factor in."

The other big idea that survived? Chris Evans appearing as Johnny Storm. As Levy told it, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, who co-wrote the first two "Deadpool" movies, pitched the misdirect very early on in development: 

"What if we could get Chris Evans and the audience thinks it's Cap, but he's actually coming back as Johnny Storm? It was such an A-plus idea that it survived every iteration of the storyline."

It really does feel like Chris Evans was the true anchor being to the universe of "Deadpool & Wolverine." After all, his version of Johnny Storm was the character that stuck around the longest in the story, and Evans was the easiest actor to convince to join the project — all it took was a text message.

Of course, it's one thing to suggest having Chris Evans return to Marvel and play Johnny Storm instead of Steve Rogers. It's a whole other thing to then kill Johnny in a most horrible fashion after just a few minutes of screen time. However, this is also the moment that sells "Deadpool & Wolverine," confirming that it is indeed the movie that "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" wanted to be — a movie that treats its cameos with reverence when it's warranted, and with laughter when it serves a comedic purpose. No legacy character is above killing in the film, but they also aren't merely discarded at first chance for simple shock value ... not unless it was really funny, anyway.

Making matters even better is that Storm's role in the film doesn't end with his death, but continues on into the post-credits scene (one of the best Marvel has ever done). That Johnny's ensuing parade of profanity was also Evans' one and only condition for appearing in "Deadpool & Wolverine" only makes his involvement that much better.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is currently playing in theaters.