Deadpool 3 Could Adapt Marvel's Darkest X-Force Story - But It's A Huge Risk

When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, there were numerous implications to go along with the purchase. However, most superhero fans were most concerned with how Marvel characters once owned by Fox, namely the X-Men and Fantastic Four, could now join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there have been teases of mutants and even a variant of Mr. Fantastic appearing, played by John Krasinski, things will inevitably get taken to another level when Deadpool enters the fray in "Deadpool 3."

The Merc with a Mouth will see the conclusion of his trilogy, and even though details are sparse, it promises to be a universe-hopping adventure. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) will team up with a version of Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, and many have speculated that Wade Wilson will interact with the Time Variant Authority (TVA) introduced in "Loki." This could explain how he'll make the jump from Fox's universe to Disney's. 

Nothing is cemented at this point, but if Deadpool and Wolverine are going on a universe-spanning journey, it's possible influences could be drawn from one of the darkest X-Force storylines — "The Dark Angel Saga." The X-Force was brought into the fray in "Deadpool 2" before being promptly dispatched, but it's possible Deadpool isn't done with the group just yet. But there would be pros and cons in adapting elements of that particular story for the big screen, and it may not gel with what the previous two "Deadpool" movies accomplished.

Even when Marvel movies adapt comic book storylines, such as "Captain America: Civil War," changes are always made to make it work within the confines of the MCU. Tweaks would obviously be necessary with "The Dark Angel Saga," but there are elements that would certainly make Deadpool's latest adventure work to bring him into Disney's playpen.

For starters, the comic books involve Wolverine putting a new team together, including Deadpool, so that could explain why the two team up in the trilogy capper. The story also contains elements of multiverse hopping, which could eventually explain how Wade Wilson ends up in another universe. As for the story itself, it involves a version of X-Force trying to take down Archangel by traveling to the Age of Apocalypse under the tutelage of a variant of Beast from a Dark timeline. From that alone, adapting this story could be an opportunity to utilize previously established characters in the "X-Men" movies. It may not be the exact same version of Apocalypse as what we saw in "X-Men: Apocalypse," but it's safe to say no one looks back fondly on that iteration, allowing the movie to redo him in a more flattering light.

Additionally, "The Dark Angel Saga" uses the Life Seed as a MacGuffin. In the comics, this is an item Celestials use to bring life to barren worlds. It wouldn't take much to reconfigure its lore and make the Life Seed responsible for bringing mutants into the fold in the MCU. The storyline, with some revisions, could bring both Deadpool and mutants as a whole into the cinematic universe in one fell swoop while providing an action-packed adventure. But a story of this size could bring complications to a film series that's nailed a pretty crucial formula.

Adapting "The Dark Angel Saga" would be ambitious for "Deadpool 3," but it also poses some risks of doing too much. "Deadpool" and "Deadpool 2" work so well because they focus on Wade Wilson above all else. He may be a fourth-wall-breaking murderer, but there's a real heart to those films where the audience can connect with him on an emotional level. "Deadpool 3" is already playing with fire by bringing back Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, but incorporating too many other mutants threatens to make the sequel more of an exercise in fan service than a worthy ending to the character's trilogy.

"Deadpool 2" actually made fun of this concept already. Deadpool creates X-Force in an obvious attempt to make fun of superhero team-ups like the X-Men and Avengers. However, in the group's first mission, they all die after jumping out of a plane. It's a hilarious sequence, and it allows the rest of the film to keep Deadpool front and center without getting too in the weeds with other characters' backstories. Many modern superhero movies get too caught up in introducing new characters and potential sequel set-ups. It leads to bloat, which was the case with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." With Kang the Conqueror taking up so much space to set up plot points for "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty," there was little room to develop Scott Lang. 

Some fan service is all right, but "Deadpool 3" should stick with what made the first two movies work so well. Bringing in other Fox X-Men characters is fine if it's done with the intention of further developing Deadpool's arc. The film already needs to lay a massive foundation of incorporating elements of the MCU so that Deadpool can cross over and likely introduce mutants as a whole into the universe. But stories are ultimately about the characters, so hopefully, "Deadpool 3" doesn't lose sight of what made its predecessors so beloved.