Fox is betting that audiences will not get a load of Deadpool when the movie opens this weekend but will immediately want more, which is why the studio is already working on a sequel.
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote Deadpool, are writing the script for a follow-up, which has already been greenlighted, insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter.
The fact that a sequel is in the works should not be a surprise at this point. Deadpool is tracking to open to at least $65 million over the upcoming four-day holiday weekend, with some estimates pointing north of $70 million.
Tim Miller directed Deadpool and although is he has not signed on to helm the sequel, Fox is intent on keeping the creative team together.
Reese, Wernick and Miller, as well as star Ryan Reynolds, have fought an uphill battle within the studio system to get the movie made, forging themselves into a compact unit. Wernick and Reese, who also acted as executive producers on the movie, remained on board throughout the development and production, a rarity in a system that interchanges scribes at high rates.
Deadpool is an R-rated action comedy based on an irreverent Marvel Comics character who is part of the universe of X-Men heroes, to which Fox has the license.
Reese and Wernick’s other credits include Zombieland and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The duo is repped by WME and Hansen Jacobson.
This article originally appeared on HollywoodReporter.com
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