5 Things the Deadpool Movie Needs More Than a Love Interest

By now any Deadpool fan worth his/her chimichangas knows that Gotham’s Morena Baccarin has been cast as Wade Wilson’s love interest in the 2016 film. I for one was rooting for Taylor Schilling to land the role, but that may have something to do with all of the “PIPER + WADE”s that I may have prematurely carved on the trees in my yard.

The real question is: does Deadpool even need a love interest?

Let’s examine: Deadpool gained popularity as a Marvel Comics character largely because he’s different. He’s an anti-hero, and more specifically, he’s the anti-Spider-Man.

Peter Parker loves the girl-next-door, his childhood crush Mary Jane Watson. It’s a made-for-Hollywood love story, the hero gets the girl, etc.

One of Wade Wilson’s most high profile comic book romances was his complicated love triangle with Thanos and Death. For the Deadpool film, Thanos is obviously off limits since he’s owned by Marvel Studios (and this a Fox project), and nobody wants to see the human embodiment of Death pull Deadpool’s mask off of his disfigured face for a romantic smooch. Well, maybe Tumblr people do.

The point is, Deadpool is one of the very few Marvel Comics characters that doesn’t need a significant other in his film adaptation. It’s possible that Morena Baccarin’s character may primarily appear in flashbacks or pre-disfigurement Wade Wilson origin scenes (of which we’re assuming there will be plenty, otherwise why cast one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive?), however, Deadpool’s at his best when he’s taking mercenary jobs and kicking asses.

Here are five things the Deadpool movie needs more than a love interest for its main character:

Zombie Ex-Presidents

Although the Deadpool vs. Dead Presidents story arc from Duggan and Posehn’s run is some of the best comic book source material in Wade Wilson’s history, I don’t expect to see that angle adapted for film quite yet (save it for the sequel!). I use “Zombie Ex-Presidents” as more of a proxy for all of the bonkers sh*t that comes with Deadpool’s rich and crazy narrative.

Along the same vein as zombie ex-presidents, the Deadpool film needs insane things like Hit Monkeys, Star Trek references, Godzilla cameos and Hammer Pants more than it does a love interest.

Impossibly Gruesome Injuries

One of Deadpool’s coolest features is his ability to regenerate from absolutely any injury. His regenerative ability was derived from Wolverine’s healing factor, and granted to him as a result of his subjection to the Weapon X program. The film version of Deadpool needs to sustain some hideously gory injuries so he can really show off his regeneratin’ abilities to all of this new fans.

From the Marvel Wiki:

Deadpool is able to heal from injuries such as slashes, puncture wounds, bullet wounds, beheading, and severe burns within moments.

We need to see all of these things happen. The film’s rating will go a long way in predicting how far they’ll go with Deadpool’s injuries.

His healing factor is significantly more powerful than Wolverine’s as he can regrow missing limbs and organs and was able to recover after the Hulk liquidated everything from his waist up.

I wish we could hope to see this, but alas, character rights.

A Fragile Fourth Wall

Besides his regenerating ability and penchant for pop culture references, Deadpool is tremendously self-aware. So much so, that he’s aware that he is a comic book character, and often breaks the fourth wall to directly address the readers, writers, artists and editors.

My guess is, the film’s origin of Deadpool will be narrated by Deadpool himself, but we can also expect much more interaction between the main character and the audience.

This:

Not necessarily a dancing Deadpool LEGO Minifigure per se, but general hijinks is needed. The film cannot take itself too seriously, for if it does, it misinterprets the essence of the character.

A Wolverine Cameo

Early reports are that the X-Men’s Colossus will appear in the Deadpool film, although he will not be played by Days of Future Past’s Daniel Cudmore. Word is Deadpool will indeed be a part of the main X-Men film universe, which means the other major Marvel character he is intrinsically tied to would be available to make a cameo.

I realize any connection to Wolverine will just invoke thoughts of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine version (read: abomination) of Deadpool, but my guess is the writers tackle the “reboot” issue head on. It’s a great opportunity to break that fourth wall and demonstrate the playful, self-aware nature of the character for the uninitiated. In fact, Redditor Circuitfire had a great idea for how the 2016 Deadpool film should begin:

Deadpool hits theaters February 12, 2016.

top image via That’s How I Party