The Deadpool script helped to create a cultural phenomenon — a modern superhero movie that floats above political correctness and brings a brand of biting humor along with a distinct meta quality.
In this post, we’re going to analyze the Deadpool script so that you can see how the screenwriters crafted a story that would lead to at least two sequels and a loyal fanbase that has been extremely satisfied to date.
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The Deadpool Script
Click to view and download the entire Deadpool script PDF below.
Click above to read and download the entire Deadpool script PDF
WHO WROTE THE Deadpool SCRIPT?
Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are both producers and screenwriters who have worked together on projects for many years.
Reese has early writing credits like Cruel Intentions 3 and Wernick began as a producer on KCAL news. The pair also wrote Zombieland, Life, and began their collaboration on Invasion Iowa.
Deadpool PLOT
Story beats in the Deadpool script
Much of what is in the original Deadpool script was altered, reordered, or completely cut, but the screenplay still follows story structure.
Script Teardown
Script Structure of Deadpool
1. EXPOSITION (BEGINNING)
Deadpool is after someone named Francis (Ajax). He wants revenge and speaks of love and commitment. Then he ambushes a convoy and kills everyone.
2. INCIDITING INCIDENT
Colossus and NTW head off to find Deadpool, and in the flashback, we learn of the bar’s “Dead pool.” Wade and Vanessa meet for the first time and fall in love.
3. CLIMAX OF ACT ONE
Wade proposes to Vanessa but then learns that he has late-stage terminal cancer. We then flash forward to Wade as he interrogates Francis (Ajax).
4. OBSTACLES (RISING ACTION)
Wade meets the recruiter in the bar. The recruiter tells Wade he could give him powers that would cure his cancer. Wade agrees and is mutated and tortured in a lab.
5. MIDPOINT (BIG TWIST)
Wade burns down the facility and is beaten down by Francis (Ajax). He escapes the facility and goes on a murderous rampage to track down Francis.
6. DISASTER & CRISIS
Ajax and Angel Dust are after Vanessa. Wade and Weasel head to a strip club to find her before the villains. Ajax kidnaps Vanessa in the alley behind the strip club.
7. CLIMAX OF ACT TWO
Ajax kidnaps Vanessa behind the strip club. Wade goes after Ajax but first stops at X-Men HQ to ask for help.
8. OBSTACLES (RISING ACTION)
Deadpool, Colossus, and NTW storm the fortress at the scrapyard. They’re ambushed by a team of mercenaries. They battle it out with superpowers.
9. CLIMAX OF ACT THREE
Deadpool, Colossus, and NTW storm the fortress at the scrapyard. They’re ambushed by a team of mercenaries. They battle it out with superpowers.
10. DENOUEMENT (WRAP UP)
Colossus tries to get Deadpool to take the high road, but he shoots Ajax in the head.
11. RESOLUTION
Wade and Vanessa reunite and share a disgusting kiss while listening to Wham! A callback in the script.
Deadpool Script Takeaway #1
Deadpool movie quotes & lines
Deadpool has so many good quotes and lines that the writers actually provide multiple alternate options in the script. Each is funny, and some lines skipped in the early parts of the script show up later in the film.
Read the Deadpool Movie Quotes Here — Script Version 3
The best Deadpool quotes are those that are self-aware, which is often referred to as “meta.” The fourth wall breaks featured both in the screenplay and the film are they themselves, “meta.”
Scene Study: Deadpool Fourth Wall Breaks
The screenwriters use this to indicate a fourth wall break:
He turns to CAMERA:
Notice how the word CAMERA is in all caps. This assures that the filmmakers, producers, and readers won’t miss this important detail.
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Deadpool Script Takeaway #2
Deadpool opening highway bridge scene
Deadpool’s opening scene takes place on a highway bridge, where he fights with baddies in an SUV before intentionally flipping the vehicle and taking out the rest of the villains in the convoy.
Read the Deadpool Opening Bridge Scene — Script Version 3
This highway bridge scene really sets the tone for the entire movie. In the script, the lines are a bit different. As mentioned in the quotes section above, the writers give alternate lines right inside the script so that the filmmakers have comedic options when the scene is captured.
Scene Study: Deadpool Opening Highway Bridge Scene
There are also some flat out changes from the script, like the line “maximum effort” before Deadpool drops from the bridge. Much of the script was either changed or filmed and then cut later in the edit.
Deadpool doesn’t introduce himself in Spanish, and there is no mention of him using the crayoned drawing as a “suspect reference photo.” One huge change are the final lines about “boyfriends” and “superheroes.”
Deadpool Script Takeaway #3
Deadpool bar scene
There are a few Deadpool bar scenes, but the one that stands out to me the most is when Wade first meets his true love, Vanessa.
Read the Deadpool Bar Scene — Script Version 1
This particular bar scene in Deadpool is pretty close to the original script except for a few minor changes and none of TJ Miller’s funny lines.
Scene Study: Deadpool Bar Scene
It seems obvious from the script that the writers knew Ryan Reynolds would be the star, but perhaps TJ Miller was cast later and of course given an opportunity to add lines and possibly improvise a bit.
Also, it’s important to note that entire sequences from the script don’t make it into the movie, like the trip down to Mexico for Wade’s cancer treatment, and some scenes that are in the movie actually occur much later in the script, like the bar scene where Weasel and Wade land on the “Deadpool” name for Wade's alter ego.
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Read and Download More Scripts
Deadpool is perfect case study on how to bring a brand of biting humor along with a distinct meta quality. If you want to read more, we have other great titles, such as The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers and Joker in our screenplay database. Browse and download PDFs for all of our scripts as you read, write and practice your craft to become the next great screenwriter.
