Vanessa Carlyle actress Morena Baccarin defends her lack of screen time in 2018’s Deadpool 2. Baccarin made her Marvel debut in Deadpool as Vanessa, the love interest of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). Though Vanessa has a superhero alter ego in the comics, Copycat, the first two films in the franchise largely ignored that, instead keeping her as a regular human. Wade and Vanessa’s relationship was a surprisingly poignant element in the first Deadpool, and many fans expected to see a bigger role for Vanessa in the sequel. However, that proved to not be the case.
Early on in Deadpool 2, Vanessa is killed by one of Wade’s enemies. Her death propels Wade’s story throughout the film, and she occasionally appears via Wade’s dreams to coach him through his grief. Though one of the post-credits scenes sees Wade go back in time to save Vanessa, there were many who pointed out that Deadpool 2 provides yet another example of “fridging,” or the plot device where female love interests are often killed to further the male hero’s journey.
Baccarin recently spoke to ComicBook.com about her new film Greenland, and conversation briefly turned to Deadpool 2. When it came to her lack of screen time, Baccarin admitted she was disappointed by that, but also acknowledged that her role was still pivotal to Wade’s arc. “I can understand that people felt that way and I certainly was disappointed that I didn’t have more to do, because I just loved the part so much,” Baccarin explained. “But in watching the film and reading the script, it felt like such an emotionally pivotal role in the film and the entire arc of his character in the film is set into motion because of what happens to my character, that it felt that I was very involved in the movie even though I didn’t have a lot of scenes.”
Baccarin’s viewpoint makes sense, for even though Vanessa rarely appears onscreen in Deadpool 2, her presence is felt in nearly every scene of the film. It’s hard to deny that she still had an impact on the story. However, for fans who were eager to see more of Vanessa and Baccarin’s performance, it was disappointing to have her relegated to the afterlife. The post-credits scene managed to rectify this somewhat, but its placement at the very end of the film still meant Vanessa didn’t have much to do.
Much of Deadpool 3 still remains a mystery, including whether it’s happening or not. Back in June, Baccarin revealed she hasn’t yet been approached about appearing in Deadpool 3, leaving Vanessa’s future up in the air. However, this doesn’t mean she won’t appear; Thanks to the Disney-Fox merger, Deadpool 3‘s status is murky, which is likely why she hasn’t been involved in any talks. There’s a very good chance that, should the movie be given the green light, Baccarin will be brought back. Perhaps this time around, she’ll actually get to play Vanessa’s Copycat side, which would definitely give her a more substantial storyline. Only time will tell, though it’s safe to say fans (and Baccarin) deserve to see more of Vanessa after what happened in Deadpool 2.
Source: ComicBook.com
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