ZEITGEIST
Bill Skarsgård has only been glimpsed in the trailers for Deadpool 2 so far, and his character wasn’t named as part of the X-Force lineup in the recent look at the film. Luckily, Rob Delaney (who plays the human Peter in the film) confirmed Skarsgård will play Zeitgeist in the film. Though his name wouldn’t suggest it, Zeitgeist has the power to regurgitate acid. As for his role in the film and beyond, hopefully he’ll fare better than in the comics, where he died in 2001’s X-Force #116—the same issue he debuted in.
SHIORI KUTSUNA’S CHARACTER
Though Shiori Kutsuna’s character appeared just before Wade introduced the new X-Force in the recent Deadpool 2 trailer, her name wasn’t given. As such, she’s one of two mystery mutants in the movie. Luckily, her display of electrical powers glimpsed in various footage means she’s likely playing Surge.
The newest mutant to join the film, Noriko Ashida debuted as Surge in 2004’s New Mutants #8. Gifted with the mutant power to absorb electricity, Surge can release her stored energy as lightning blasts or bursts of super-speed. In the footage so far, we’ve seen her channel her powers into weapons. Though not a member of X-Force on the page, she should add an interesting angle to fight scenes in the film.
RUSSELL
The mystery of who ‘The Kid’ is has been growing ever since Julian Dennison was cast in Deadpool 2, and it only increased when we learned Cable’s mission in the movie is to capture the young mutant. Deadpool seems to assemble X-Force to stop Cable and protect The Kid, but something bigger could be at play if time travel is involved. Though there’s been no official confirmation of who Dennison is playing, a Deadpool 2 TV spot revealed the identity of ‘The Kid’ as Russell. That along with his display of pyrokinesis means Dennison is probably playing Russell Collins aka Firefist.
Firefirst debuted in 1986’s X-Factor #1 as a character a good bit older than Dennison. Still, he’s a relatively minor hero and it seems Deadpool 2 is taking some liberties with him. His fire-generating powers are pretty straightforward, though some ominous shots of the character surrounded by flames in mean he could be responsible for something horrific (thus explaining Cable’s arrival). While the first Deadpool hardly had a secretive plot, it looks as if the sequel will be saving a number of story surprises for its debut. Regardless of what unfolds, however, Deadpool 2 will greatly expand the roster of mutants in the X-Men universe.
KEY RELEASE DATES
Untitled Deadpool Sequel/Deadpool 2 release date: May 18, 2018
X-Men: Dark Phoenix release date: Feb 14, 2019
New Mutants release date: Aug 2, 2019
Gambit release date: Jun 7, 2019