Deadpool Could Have A Boyfriend & That's Fantastic

The character of Deadpool is one of the most unique and exciting Marvel characters, in my opinion, with his comical disregard for the fourth wall and almost total disregard of doing good. And in a recent interview with Variety, the actor who plays Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds, discussed the possibility of Marvel's first pansexual character getting a boyfriend in upcoming films of the Deadpool franchise. LGBTQ superheroes with partners are non-existent in the Marvel cinematic universe, so this move, if it ever comes to fruition, would be, if I may, the bomb-diggity in regards to Marvel diversity.

Deadpool or Wade Wilson, as the character was called before the ex-military officer mutated into a superhero following a botched cancer treatment, was as of the last movie in a deeply loving relationship with Vanessa. She is the great love of his life — but who knows what could happen in upcoming films? It would be really interesting if some sort of love triangle emerged, though we can assume the character of Vanessa wouldn't be too excited about it.

According to Variety, Reynolds has already devised plans for the Deadpool franchise past the 2018 sequel, but it's not clear when (or if) the Merc with the Mouth take on a new love interest.

But as Reynolds reminds us, the love of Vanessa is what keeps his character going. As he puts it, "are we being faithful to the canon that we nurtured and created... Deadpool isn’t in love with Vanessa just because she’s a woman. He’s in love with Vanessa because he loves her.”

But, at the same time, this is certainly an interesting opportunity for Marvel to add some diversity to their vast array of superheroes. According to Reynolds, "“What love is to Deadpool may not be what love is to Batman or someone else. I think that could be played up more. He’s an outsider in every way, shape, and form.” There's a lot of real-life outsiders out there who could benefit from an outsider character in a superhero movie with whom they could identify.

And Reynolds isn't concerned with upsetting and alienating audiences in countries that are less tolerant of LGBTQ rights — which is the standard excuse against same-sex couples in superheroes movies. Instead, Reynolds admits, "that’s not really a problem for us, because we were banned in China. We were rated ‘f*ck you!’ in China.”

So it might not be for quite a few years, but even the possibility of a same-sex couple in a superhero movie is exciting. Fifty years ago, the notion wouldn't even be discussed (probably). Kudos to Marvel and Ryan Reynolds for attempting to bring a little more diversity and equality to the world, or at least discussing it.