The Merc With a Mouth poking fun at Taylor Swift?
Turns out it almost came to be, as Atlanta scribe Stephen Glover has today shared new details about FX’s scrapped Deadpool series and why Taylor Swift has something to do with the cancellation.
In a series of now-deleted tweets (h/t The Wrap), the screenwriter echoed Donald Glover’s sentiment in saying that the planned cartoon “wasn’t too black,” before admitting that the creative team wanted to give “Rick and Morty a run for their money” when it comes to pop culture references and meta humor.
Such an approach would have spawned a Taylor Swift-centric episode, which was seemingly the “last straw” before the Powers That Be at FX ultimately decided to pull the plug.
There definitely was a Taylor Swift episode. It was HILARIOUS. And it was definitely the last straw lol. Our show wasn’t too black. It wasn’t really that black at all. But we definitely wanted to give ‘Rick and Morty’ a run for their money and I think we would have. Proud of the gang.
Perhaps this particular episode was the one that forced Ryan Reynolds to step in? It’s impossible to know for sure, but as Donald Glover proved yesterday with his wonderfully meta screenplay, the creative powerhouse wasn’t “too busy” for his Deadpool animated series.
Here’s an extract from that faux script:
Do you think they canceled the show because of racism?! Yeah, all the writers were black. The references were pretty black, too. I heard they went over lunch budget ordering Jamaican food at least once a week.
The Donald Glover-backed Deadpool series is no more, sadly, but those disappointed by the show’s cancellation can at least look forward to the Merc’s return in Deadpool 2 this May, while Glover will also be appearing on our screens for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
