Comics
[Interview] How David Leitch’s ‘X-Force’ Movie Became ‘Deadpool 2’
Deadpool 2 makes a joke about the inevitable X-Force movie. It’s already in the trailers. Deadpool dubs Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews) and their team the X-Force. Domino herself calls out how derivative that name is. While Deadpool 2 is sure not to become an X-Force movie, director David Leitch was actually developing X-Force when he was called upon to direct Deadpool 2.
“Part of the function of this movie was to introduce X-Force and expand the world with Deadpool in it,” Leitch told us. “That was something that drew me to the material. I was on early developing X-Force for a brief amount of time, which is how I think my name came up so quickly for Deadpool 2. So I left that to do this film, helping to introduce these characters in this way.”
X-Force wasn’t quite at the point of choosing team members when Leitch left, but he got several in Deadpool 2.
“We were still in discussions about who it was going to be and who we wanted in,” Leitch said. “It was really early days. It was sort of right around that time. Honestly, a month into it, I was doing my research about how I saw the world and I was putting together my package and take about what X-Force could be for me as a filmmaker. They flipped the script on me and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in doing Deadpool 2?’ So I met with Ryan [Reynolds] on that.”
Reynolds has been the champion of Deadpool ever since he played a wonky version of Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Insisting that a real Deadpool movie be rated R, Reynolds even orchestrated the leak of a camera test that got the first movie greenlit. So he was equally discerning about the sequel.
“They had been working on some drafts,” Leitch said. “He had a real strong point of view about where he wanted to take it and I really liked it. As daunting as it was to step into a sequel that was so beloved, I really felt it was a good story and I wanted to tell it.”
An X-Force movie is inevitable, and there is already a New Mutants movie in production. It’s kind of funny, since the New Mutants comics introduced Deadpool, but the Deadpool movies came first. Leitch said he didn’t knowingly set up anything in New Mutants, but wouldn’t put it past Reynolds to sneak something in.
“Honestly, I don’t think we did,” Leitch said. “I say that because there are times when Mr. Ryan Reynolds might slip an Easter egg in through the art department that I might even be unaware of. I would think the Deadpool universe is standalone in some respects.”
Deadpool 2 opens May 18.
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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