Mild spoilers for Deadpool 2 lie ahead.
The latest Deadpool 2 trailer finally gave us an idea of what the story is actually about. Anyone hoping for a Deadpool and Cable bromance will likely be disappointed. But if you had a few quid on Deadpool 2 actually being a stealth X-Force movie (note: they’re still getting their own movie), well, it’s time to collect.
Of course, Deadpool himself names the team in a typically meta (and slightly cynical) way. But it has been something of a journey to unravel the assorted mutants on that troop transport with the Merc with a Mouth.
Here, watch the trailer again in case you missed it…
Obviously, there’s Zazie Beets as Domino. Terry Crews is playing Bedlam, an obscure mutant who can mess with electrical equipment and your brain’s neural field, too. The biggest surprise is that it’s Lewis Tan wielding Shatterstar’s swords (Tan dropped this bit of knowledge on Twitter). Also just visible over Deadpool’s right shoulder (so your left) is Zeitgeist, who was created during Peter Milligan and Mike Allred’s totally bonkers time as creative team on X-Force.
Shioli Kutsuna (not on the plane) seems to be a version of Surge, who has similar energy powers. I’m just assuming that Brianna Hildebrand’s Negasonic Teenage Warhead is too cool to be part of this team, and anyway, she’s a member of the X-Men anyway, right?
Since one of the key elements of the Milligan/Allred era of X-Force was how characters were often kind of expendable, I wouldn’t get too attached to characters like Zeitgeist or Bedlam. I’m sure if they croak it will be in the most hilarious way imaginable. You can also spot a photo of Rob Delaney as someone named “Peter.” There’s some speculation that he could be Pete Wisdom, a character created by Warren Ellis and Ken Lashley in the pages of Excalibur, but we don’t have any hard info on that.
Deadpool 2 arrives in May…