Ryan Reynolds helped bring Deadpool to life on the big screen. His stellar portrayal of the Merc with a Mouth made the first installment of the Deadpool franchise a smash hit. As a result, the studio gave Reynolds more creative control over the sequel. Originally, he wanted Deadpool 2 to feature the titular character facing off against coaches on The Voice.
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According to Collider, Reynolds originally wanted the sequel to feature a subplot in which Deadpool tried to steal one of the big red chairs from The Voice. Early versions of the script reportedly included cameo appearances from Blake Shelton and artists who won the singing competition. Unfortunately, 20th Century Fox vetoed the idea and the film moved forward with a different plot.
Deadpool and The Voice: The Crossover No One Knew They Needed
Had Reynolds gotten his way, the promotional possibilities would have been endless. He could have appeared on The Voice as Deadpool. He could have even taken over a chair for an episode and given constructive criticism to contestants. At the same time, it would have blown the doors off of the Marvel Comics Extended Universe, allowing for further mergers between the fantastical world of The Avengers and the real world. It would have also been a hilarious addition to the film as well as The Voice.
More than that, it would have been on-brand for the overall Deadpool franchise. The comics and films both lampoon superhero media. When the first Deadpool film hit theaters in 2016, superhero crossovers were all the rage. The same remains true today. One only has to look at the box office earnings of the Avengers films to see that. There are few better ways to poke fun at the ongoing trend of crossover properties than to have a massively successful Marvel character share a universe with a massively popular reality show.
In the end, Deadpool 2 featured characters from the X-Men franchise such as Cable, Domino, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. It also featured celebrity cameos from Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and many more.
Featured Image by Lars Niki/Getty Images for Museum of Modern Art, Department of Film
