Knee-jerk reactions from a film’s test screenings should always be treated with a heightened sense of caution. That goes without saying. But what we’ve been hearing about Deadpool 2, a sequel that many considered to be the cinematic equivalent of a slam-dunk, is certainly concerning.
This past weekend, comic book fans were placed on red alert after it was reported that the pic was testing “very poorly” among audiences – so poorly, in fact, that Fox was supposedly concerned that the Merc’s second standalone adventure was doomed to fail. Couple this with those reports about Deadpool 2‘s production schedule – the David Leitch actioner is currently in the midst of reshoots, and has been for the past four weeks – and suddenly, it appears that the pic is in trouble.
Now, only adding even more fuel to the fire is former IGN editor Jeremy Conrad. If you recall, he was one of the first to break the news of the harsh reactions to the film’s test screenings. He did so via Twitter and promptly found himself threatened with legal action from Fox, who made him remove any and all Tweets relating to the situation. And while he did comply, he’s now taken to his blog to shed a bit more light on why exactly audiences aren’t enjoying Deadpool 2.
Granted, he doesn’t actually name the film in his report as we imagine that legally, he can’t. But it’s not hard to read between the lines here. Not to mention that We Got This Covered has also spoken to another source who can corroborate all this, confirming that Conrad is indeed talking about David Leitch’s upcoming sequel.
Of course, given that he goes into specifics on the problematic scenes, we’ll warn you that there will be spoilers from here on out, so if you want to walk into the film with a blank slate, turn back now. You’ve been warned…
Still with us? Good, because after the jump, you’ll be able to find out some pretty shocking details about what Fox has planned for us in Deadpool 2.
First up, Conrad mentions that within the first 10 minutes, the movie gets off on the wrong foot by killing a female character “that many people considered the heart of the first film and one of its best parts.” Adding insult to injury is the fact that she only gets one scene before she meets her end. As the former IGN editor mentions, this plays into the whole “women in refrigerators trope” and is seen as extremely sexist.
As for the plot itself, according to Conrad, there really isn’t much of one. Explaining how it’s flimsy and not really worth getting invested in, he says:
Then there’s really not much of a plot. The story basically surrounds a brat kid who someday will kill someone’s family (and that character is a new introduction in this movie). It’s kind of like the kid in Looper who will grow up to be an evil crime lord. In a movie that’s two hours long, that’s a pretty flimsy plot to stretch things across, especially with the heart of the first movie and the person who drove that plot out of the picture.
Finally, he goes on to detail one of Deadpool 2‘s villains (perhaps Juggernaut?), who will apparently upset fans given how he’s portrayed.
Fans of comic books will also be upset at how a long-time fan-favorite (and internet meme) villain is once again treated on the big screen. Oh this time he looks a little closer to his comic book look (thanks to CG), but they make him disposable with a really stupid death. Two characters notice his pants are ripped exposing his crack, so they shove a sparking power cable up his butt and push him into a pool. Honestly the best parts of the movie are its post-credits scenes, which involve time travel and an infant Hitler being strangled to death.
Now, seeing as this is all coming from a test screening – the purpose of which is to fix and improve a film before release – we wouldn’t say that Deadpool 2‘s fate is sealed just yet. After all, comedy sequels are notoriously tricky to get right, and with two new major players being added into the mix here – Cable and Domino – the Merc’s second solo outing was always going to have a tougher time balancing everything than its predecessor.
Conrad’s report is definitely concerning, make no mistake about it, but there’s still a few months to go before release and we’ll remain hopeful that director David Leitch and co. are able pull though and put together something that can live up to the original. Deadpool set a high bar, to be sure, but the trailers and marketing for the sequel have all been pretty promising and given that this is one of Fox’s most lucrative properties at the moment, we’d be shocked if they dropped the ball here.
One way or another, though, we’ll find out soon enough what the case is, as the untitled Deadpool sequel (The Second Coming, perhaps?) will see a release on May 18th – six weeks earlier than initially expected.
