In Deadpool 2's mid-credits scenes, Wade Wilson uses Cable's time-travel device to kill X-Men Origins: Wolverine's version of the character - Weapon XI - and put a bullet in Ryan Reynolds' head for contemplating making Green Lantern. However, the Merc with the Mouth also saves Vanessa, something which essentially undoes the sequel's entire plot and it turns out the scene was canon.
"We invalidated the whole movie," co-writer Rhett Reese admitted in a recent interview. "We’re telling everybody, ‘You didn’t even need to be here for two hours, because everything is solved!’ But yeah, we do at least want to leave the possibility open for Vanessa and Peter." That doesn't seem like the best approach to storytelling but this is Deadpool so perhaps no one will ultimately care!
After all, the character's adventures are known for being irreverent fun and so it's unlikely X-Force or Deadpool 3 would spend much time explaining how things have been altered by that trip back in time.
"It was one of those things where we all looked at it, and go, ‘Yeah, I mean on a purely tactical screenwriting basis it’s probably not the wisest thing to do, but it was just too funny and so much fun that I think the audience will forgive us for doing it, because time travel in general is kind of a funky thing," Paul Wernick added. "And so we just took our license with it and made it Deadpool."
Lazy writing or a smart use of the concept? As always, weigh in with your thoughts in the usual place.