X-Force Director Explains How He Strikes A Balance Between Character And Humor

Much like its raunchy predecessor, Deadpool 2 began with a tongue-in-cheek gag and didn’t let up until the credits rolled. And even then, the Merc With a Mouth managed to sprinkle a couple of hilarious and suitably meta jokes to keep audiences glued to their seats.

By and large, that strategy worked like a charm, and one need only look to Deadpool 2‘s box office performance for evidence of that. However, not every gag was an out-and-out knee-slapper, and this joke-a-minute approach arguably stifled some of the sequel’s quieter character moments.

It is a Deadpool movie, so it’d be foolish to expect anything less. Be that as it may, though, /Film recently caught up with X-Force helmer Drew Goddard to find out how he plans to strike a balance between the pic’s humor and characters. Spoilers: he’s not sweating it.

The answer is, I don’t worry about the jokes. I just don’t. I worry about the characters, the story, and trust that we’ll make it funny. I did this show The Good Place, and I’ve been very lucky because I work with [creator] Mike Schur and I know, ‘Oh, these are the funniest people on the planet.’ So when I do anything like that, I just worry about the character, the emotion, and the story, and then I go call them and go, ‘Make it funny now!’ With Ryan, the same thing. Ryan Reynolds is so funny. You don’t stress out about it. It’s always easier to add jokes. It’s impossible to add emotion.

Having Ryan Reynolds at your disposal certainly helps, and we understand the actor holds a producing role on X-Force just as he did on Deadpool 2. Because after fighting on behalf of Wade Wilson for years, it’s only natural that Reynolds wants to be involved in every creative step, as there’s no one who understands the Merc With a Mouth better than he does.

Next up for Wade is the launch of Fox’s X-Force ensemble movie in the not-so-distant future. Expect Goddard to get the cameras rolling before the year’s end.