http://chud.com/nextraimages/deadpool_jump.gifTwo pieces of Wolverine news in one day! As you may know, the script for X-Men Origins: Wolverine* got a last minute pre-strike workover. I don’t know of anyone who has been able to get their hands on the latest draft, which means that we don’t know what changes have been made from David Benioff’s work. We do know that the film is a prequel, and that it involves Wolverine’s early career with Weapon X, when he got his admantium skeleton. And we know that some familiar Weapon X names will show up, including Sabretooth, who may be played by Gerard Butler if director Gavin Hood gets his way.

Now a trusted informant has told me that another familiar character will be showing up in the movie – none other than the merc with a mouth, Deadpool. In the comics Deadpool got his start in Weapon X, so it makes sense that he’d show up here. And we’ve been hearing rumors that Marvel is going for more movie continuity, with a scene being shot to link Incredible Hulk and Iron Man, so why not start Deadpool off here before spinning him into his own film, which David Goyer has been talking up for ages? And how exciting is it to see a second generation spin-off in the movies? The Deadpool movie could be the Good Times to Wolverine‘s Maude, which spun off from X-Men‘s All in the Family.

Fan (and Goyer) casting has had Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool forever. Now that it looks less and less likely that Reynolds will be playing The Flash in anything anytime soon, could this be his superhero franchise?

* Can’t you just picture the shitty Top Cow clone cover for this?