See how the original Deadpool hits the 15 Save the Cat! story beats.
Written by: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
Directed by: Tim Miller
Genre: Superhero
Opening Image: In slow motion, the camera pans through the chaos of an action scene, the credits establishing the tone and the mood of the film with credits like “a British villain,” “a CGI character,” “a moody teen,” and declaring that the writers are “the real heroes here” and that it’s directed by “an overpaid tool.” This story will have humor, irreverence, and violence.
Theme Stated: Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) takes a cab across town, telling the driver, Dopinder (Karan Soni), that he’s on a quest for vengeance. Wade tells Dopinder, “Love is a beautiful thing… when you find it, the whole world tastes like [Dopinder’s car air freshener] daffodil daydream. So you’ve got to hold on to it tight and never let go. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.” While the Theme Stated is usually something told to the hero, this scene takes place later in Wade’s journey, so he relates what he has learned. Love is what will drive Wade to do what he does, ultimately helping him find the hero inside himself.
Set-Up: While the villain makes a deal for some “merchandise” across town, demonstrating his mutant abilities, Wade sits on an overpass, talking to the camera and breaking the fourth wall. When the bad guys finally arrive, Wade jumps into action as Deadpool, causing chaos.
At the X-Men mansion, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) watches the events on the news, knowing that Deadpool is in the middle of it. “I’ve given him every chance to join us, but he’d rather act like [a] child,” he declares. “When will he grow up and see the benefits of becoming [an] X-Man?”
With fellow mutant Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), he sets out to confront Deadpool and to try and convince him to embrace the values of being a hero like the X-Men. During the standoff with the bad guys, Deadpool demonstrates his special powers as a skilled marksman as well as his mutant abilities to heal. Rejecting the idea of being a hero, he says, “I may be super, but I’m no hero.”
In a flashback to two years prior, Wade is a mercenary for hire. After he prevents a stalker from harassing a girl, she tells him, “You’re my hero,” a title he doesn’t want. “That, I ain’t,” he says. “Never will be.” When visiting his friend Weasel (T. J. Miller) at the bar, Wade receives his payment for the job but tells Weasel to give it back to the girl.
In a Save the Cat! moment, Wade reveals that for a mercenary, he has a warm heart. Though Wade has a background in the Special Forces, he’s in a state of Stasis = Death; if he continues down this path in life, he’ll end up dead, and he will be the “winner” of the bar’s “deadpool,” a bet on which mercenary will meet his maker first.
Catalyst: At the bar, Wade meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), and the two quickly fall in love.
B Story: As the story switches back and forth between present day and the past, it’s clear that Wade’s relationship with Vanessa drives his every decision, his love for her sustaining him through his most difficult times.
Debate: Wade and Vanessa have a whirlwind romance, and at 26 minutes, Wade proposes to Vanessa, giving her a candy ring pop as an engagement ring. Immediately after, he collapses to the ground. A meeting with the doctor reveals that Wade has late-stage cancer.
Back in the present, Wade catches the man he’s been searching for: his nemesis Francis (Ed Skrein). While Wade is angry in the confrontation, Francis claims to have made Wade immortal. Colossus arrives to try to diffuse the situation.
In a flashback, Wade debates what to do about his cancer. He wants to leave, but Vanessa wants him to try different clinics. At the bar, Weasel tells Wade that he has a visitor, a man known only as The Recruiter. The mysterious figure tells Wade that he can cure the cancer while giving Wade special powers. While Wade doesn’t want to become a superhero, he sorts through his options, realizing, “The worst part about cancer isn’t what it does to you, but what it does to the people you love. Who knew if the guy could save my life… but I knew there was only one way I could save hers. Isn’t that what superheroes do?”
In the present, Colossus tries to persuade Deadpool to be a good hero, even to the point of handcuffing Wade and dragging him along. As Francis makes his escape, Wade uses his healing abilities to free himself from his handcuffs… and his hand.
Break into Two: Wade enters the recruitment program, unsure of how it will help him.
Fun and Games: Wade meets Francis, who goes by the name Ajax, for the first time. He injects Wade with a serum designed to find latent mutant DNA, a treatment that affects everyone differently. Ajax, for example, can’t feel pain. The tests subject Wade to physical stress in an attempt to activate the mutant genes.
Ajax cruelly declares that he doesn’t make superheroes, but slaves, and Wade is told that he’ll never return home, but will be sold to the highest bidder. As Ajax suffocates Wade, the genes activate, attacking the cancer, but also leaving Wade deformed. Freeing himself from the facility, Wade fights Ajax, who impales him on a rebar and leaves him to die in a fire.
Midpoint: Wade emerges from the ashes, healed and alive. It’s a false victory, but the stakes are raised when Wade says, “I didn’t just get the cure to el cancer. I got the cure to el everything. But there was only one thing that really mattered.”
A and B Stories cross as Wade must find the only man who can cure his deformity: Francis. Otherwise, he will never be able to face Vanessa again. He has become more than human, but it’s a curse.
Bad Guys Close In: On the street, people stare at Wade; he wonders if Vanessa will ever be able to love him again, his internal bad guys gnawing at him. He meets with his friend Weasel, who admits that Wade’s ability to heal means he’ll never win the “deadpool,” giving Wade his alter ego name. He begins to hunt down Francis, getting the location from The Recruiter.
Back in the present, Wade has escaped Colossus and arrives at home, his hand still regenerating. The bad guys continue to close in on Wade, arriving at Weasel’s bar and seeing a picture of Wade and Vanessa. As Wade visits a strip club where Vanessa works, he gathers the courage to talk to her, knowing she might reject him. He ultimately gives in to his doubts and fears, leaving. Vanessa, meanwhile, is called outside when someone tells her it’s about “an old boyfriend.” With excitement, she goes outside, hoping to see Wade.
All Is Lost: Instead, Vanessa is abducted by Francis, who sends word to Wade. For Wade, the whiff of death is in the air; he is at his worst point, because if he had not met Vanessa, her life would not be in danger because of his choices.
Dark Night of the Soul: Wade knows he needs Vanessa; she has caused him to embrace being a hero and realize that there is something good inside himself. Driven by love and vengeance, Wade gathers all the guns he can find. Vanessa is being held at a scrapyard, and Wade goes to see Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, promising that he will consider joining the X-Men if they help him. Taking a cab, the three arrive on site, Wade mocking the idea of being a hero, saying, “Let’s get out there and make a difference!”
Break into Three: Arriving at the scrapyard, Wade must confront Francis to save Vanessa as A and B Stories meet.
Finale: While the heroes fight their way through Francis’s soldiers, Wade makes his way to the top of the scrapyard to find Vanessa. In a high tower surprise, he discovers that Ajax has locked her in a chamber that will suffocate her. Wade rescues her and fights Francis, who declares that he cannot actually cure Wade’s deformities. Just as Wade prepares to pull the trigger on Francis, Colossus intervenes, explaining that it only takes a few moments to be a hero, and that Wade’s choices will define him. Wade pulls the trigger anyway, declaring, “If wearing superhero tights means sparing psychopaths, then maybe I wasn’t meant to wear ‘em.” He digs deep down to confront Vanessa and apologize for leaving her. He warns her that the guy under the mask isn’t the one she remembers, but she removes it anyway, kissing him.
Final Image: As the camera pulls away from the scrapyard, Deadpool remarks, “See? You don’t need to be a superhero to get the girl; the right girl will bring out the hero in you.”
