Drew Goddard to Write and Direct X-Force, Featuring Deadpool and Cable

Fox has been quite hit-or-miss with their Marvel offerings in the past couple decades. For every Logan, there is an X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and for every First Class, there is an Apocalypse. The crude and fourth wall-breaking Deadpool is a property that worked for the studio, so you bet that the “Merc with a Mouth” is here to stay, with a sequel already on the way. But comic book readers are wise to know that Deadpool (along with Deadpool 2 co-lead Cable) are prominent parts of X-Force, and Fox is moving forward with a film about the team with writer-director Drew Goddard (per Deadline).

Goddard is well-known in the nerd sphere, being a frequent collaborator with the likes of J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon. Last year, Goddard received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Martian. But Goddard has a history with Marvel properties; he was the original showrunner for Marvel Television’s Netflix show Daredevil, writing the first two episodes until he left the project for a different Marvel IP.

Sony stole Goddard away to write and direct a film about Spider-Man villain group the Sinister Six. This was meant to be a spin-off of the Andrew Garfield movies, and part of a larger cinematic universe launched with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. However, poor reception to the sequel and a substandard box office situation led Sony to shutter the less-than-stellar Spider-Man cinematic scheme, sending the Sinister Six script into the shitter.

Now with Fox stealing away Goddard (who was the executive producer and one of the writers for The Defenders), it’s fair to say that the writer certainly gets around. Usual X-Men film producers Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner will produce along with Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds. X-Force will be Goddard’s next project after he completes Bad Times at the El Royale, starring (more Marvel actors such as) Chris Hemsworth and Jeff Bridges.

Fox’s next Marvel films are New Mutants by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) for April 13, 2018, Deadpool 2 by David Leitch (Atomic Blonde) for June 1, 2018, and Kinberg’s (in his directorial debut) X-Men: Dark Phoenix for Nov. 2, 2018. Meanwhile, let’s assume that the Channing Tatum Gambit project is also in the shitter.