After the first trailer broke records for the most-viewed trailer in YouTube history two months ago, Marvel Studios came back with the might of several gods and released the second trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine, this time showing far more about the film and its plot. The second trailer not only went full Redband (rated-R trailers), it also gave us our first glimpse of the film’s central villain, and even if she went unnamed in the trailer, we know exactly who she is and what sorta business she means. Cassandra Nova is the name of the villain, but more on her in a minute. In the meantime, let’s examine what sort of fun we are in for this July.
Aside from the trailer’s comical introduction to our two protagonists, it sets the stage for the merger of the Fox X-Men Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Voiceover narration by Wade informs us that something is happening to his world and it’s directly related to what happened to Wolverine’s world when he died. Wade doesn’t know much, but he knows he needs the help of a “hero” to stop the collapse of his world and he’s willing to force Wolverine to help him if need be.
Standing in front of a shoe store named Liefeld’s Just Feet after Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld, Wade and Logan are set to face off against quite possibly the most dangerous villain we’ve seen in the MCU in Cassandra Nova. Nova’s background is kinda disturbing and I’ll do my best to try and be delicate with her story, but there’s no real way to explain who she is without discussing her “origin” story. Apologies ahead of time if things like pregnancy miscarriages are a trigger for you. Maybe just skip the next paragraph and move on.
Nova is the twin sister of X-Men creator and leader, Charles Xavier. Xavier recognized the evil in her while they were in the womb together, so he ended her life and caused a miscarriage of his sister. The miscarried cells gathered together in the sewer and slowly formed the body of Nova, who would rock a bald head just like her brother. She also began to develop and nurture an extreme hatred for her brother and his way of life. She is the literal Yang to Professor X’s Yin. Everything Charles stands for is everything Nova hates and wants to destroy.
How Nova’s origin is handled in the film remains to be seen, but our first looks at her and her powers indicate that they’re shooting for as accurate to the comics as possible. I can see Marvel Studios changing some elements of her backstory and origin because… yeah. It doesn’t take a genius to see why the film version may want to opt for something different than miscarried human cells gathering in a sewer, but it would be kinda cool if they stuck to her real origins as I think it lends more strength to her hatred of Charles. After all, wouldn’t you want revenge on the person who ended your life because they had a suspicion you were evil as an unborn baby?
Setting aside the origin of the villain, everything else seems to be ripped straight from the pages of various Deadpool and Wolverine comics, at least in terms of honoring the relationship, the fight scenes, and the outfits. We even get Wolverine’s classic yellow and blue outfit sans mask, of course. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige promised fans this film would honor the concepts and values they have come to expect from a Deadpool comic or film and that Marvel Studios would not be applying their usual family-friendly thumb on the scales.
It would stand to reason that Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman also have plenty of surprises and cameos in store for the fans that they have zero intention of advertising before the release of the film. Knowing how badly fans have wanted this moment since the MCU became an entertain staple and knowing just how much goodwill Marvel needs to earn back after their latest slate of garbage flops, I would not be surprised to see them pull out all of the stops for this film. It might be one of those movies where you need to see it opening weekend if you have any hope of avoiding spoilers.
Both myself and BSO Publisher Rob Littal are champing at the bit to see this film. As we learn more about what we can expect in July, we will be posting updates right here on BSO. With that said, we’re going to go out of our way to protect the fans from any spoilers or moments that could ruin your movie-going experience. For a film like this, I truly believe most people will just want to experience it rather than read about some amazing scene online. You can expect us to honor your desire to see this film while still bringing you all the latest on BSO.