After Deadpool 2 introduced the team of militant mutants – and then killed them off, but then resurrected them again – the Merc with a Mouth was all set to return with his new allies in X-Force. However, what with the Disney-Fox merger and the major repercussions of the X-Men franchise being given to Marvel Studios, we recently learned that Drew Goddard’s much-anticipated team-up movie had been cancelled.
Some new details on the production have now come our way, though, which give us a better feel for what might’ve been. First of all, industry tipster Daniel Richtman shared a leaked production sheet for the Fox film which confirms that it was supposed to go before the cameras last October, with Josh Brolin and Zazie Beetz definitely intended to come back alongside Reynolds as Cable and Domino.
Richtman has also been sharing some other leaked production sheets for various superhero movies, posting partial shots to keep folks guessing. One of these made clear that Jon Hamm had been approached for an unknown role and was also interested in it. According to those who follow Richtman’s Patreon account, the film in question was X-Force, revealing that the Mad Men star was tentatively set to appear in the movie as well.
But as which character? Well, it’s worth pointing out that Hamm was previously reported to have appeared in The New Mutants – another X-Men movie that’s in a fair bit of trouble – before his role was cut. Apparently, he would have starred as Mr. Sinister, the villain that the franchise has been referencing since X-Men: Apocalypse, in a post-credits scene. So, the obvious suggestion is that he would’ve got to play the antagonist in X-Force instead.
Though X-Force is dead at the moment, there’s every chance that Marvel might reheat the project once Kevin Feige’s decided what he wants to do with Fox’s pool of properties. After all, R-rated movies aren’t off the table any longer, from what we understand, so who knows what’ll happen.