Ryan Reynolds Hopes Deadpool Has a Boyfriend in ‘Deadpool 2’
In the comic books, Deadpool is known for being pansexual, in that he’s attracted to all gender identities, or attracted to people regardless of gender. In Deadpool the movie, Wade Wilson is in a monogamous relationship with a woman, Vanessa, played by Morena Baccarin. But, if star Ryan Reynolds gets his way, Deadpool 2 would explore the character’s sexuality even further, making the Merc With a Mouth the first major movie superhero to be in a relationship with another man. Yes, Reynolds wants Deadpool to have a boyfriend.
While writer Rhett Reese said, “We wanted to honor [Deadpool’s sexuality] in the movie. But we did it in subtle ways,” Reynolds is hoping they’re overt for the sequel, telling Variety it would be “nice” if Deadpool had a boyfriend in the future:
I love that about Deadpool. I love that he can break any boundary. In the future, I hope we get to do that more…I certainly wouldn’t be the guy standing in the way of that. That would be great.
As Reese mentioned, there are hints at Deadpool’s pansexuality in the film, including a joke about being in a relationship with Wolverine and later, during a sex scene with Vanessa, mentioning that he’s open to experimentation. But nothing quite on the level of being out and having a boyfriend. While producer Simon Kinberg said he “wouldn’t rule out” the concept of Deadpool having a boyfriend, we remain skeptical.
According to GLAAD, of the 114 films they tracked over all of 2014, only 20 (17.5%) included depictions of LGBT characters and most, as they note, were based on “outdated and even defamatory stereotypes.” While there are a number of gay superheroes in the comics — Northstar, Batwoman and even the Earth 2 Green Lantern — there was been little crossover to the movie world. Even Star Wars, one of the more progressive geek franchises, only introduced their first gay character (albeit in the expanded universe) last year. J.K. Rowling’s casual assertion that Dumbledore was gay, and the ensuing backlash may still be enough to spook conservative studio heads.
It would be a remarkable step forward if a major movie superhero was in a homosexual relationship (especially in a film as proudly juvenile as Deadpool), and perhaps if the film opens strongly this weekend, Fox will be willing to give its creative team more freedom for Deadpool 2. And if not, at least we know who to blame.