Deadpool: The Actors Who Could Have Played Vanessa Instead Of Morena Baccarin
Aside from the witty one-liners and action sequences that only Wade Wilson could pull off, "Deadpool" works as well as it does because of the backup with him. Sure, Ryan Reynolds might be the perfect man for the mutated job of the Merc with a Mouth, but the film's supporting stars are also perfect in their roles. Aside from Ed Skrein as Ajax, and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, one essential element is Wade's love interest, Vanessa. Played by Morena Baccarin, the former "Serenity" and "Firefly" star is a perfect match for Reynolds' Wilson, having just as brutal and skewed a sense of humor as he does.
Getting the role wasn't an easy task, though. In the search for finding the love interest that Wade Wilson would slice, dice, and just flat-out murderise for, there were a handful of potential stars who were considered. Before Baccarin won the role, the net was cast pretty wide. The likes of Taylor Schilling, Crystal Reed, and Olivia Munn were all considered for the role, with the latter even being offered the part. Unfortunately, she had her eye on another corner of the "X-Men" universe, providing her with the perfect part in an otherwise imperfect film.
Olivia Munn turned down Deadpool for X-Men: Apocalypse
Before getting the gig, the studio turned to Olivia Munn to play the part of Wade Wilson's love interest. However, in the end, the character wasn't to her liking. Speaking to American Way Magazine, Munn recalled how it was a no-brainer between the role in "Deadpool" and the one coming up in "X-Men: Apocalypse" when she was offered the part of Psylocke.
"I said, 'Is there a fight scene,'" Munn recalled asking. There turned out to be a few, and understandably so. "I thought Psylocke was always one of the most lethal characters, and I said, 'Yes, as long as you're not using her to be the eye candy. She has really powerful abilities,'" Munn noted. "And they said, 'Yes, that's an important part.'"
In Munn's eyes, before the film's release at least, Psylocke was the antithesis of Vanessa, and that is precisely why she was drawn to the character. It's a shame, then, that she was so underutilized in the final film, which became one of the least favored of the "X-Men" franchise.
As for Morena Baccarin, taking the gig in "Deadpool" saw her be part of one what is now the third highest-grossing R-rated film ever made. Still, it was a job with some negatives — particularly in one of its most intimate but intentionally amusing scenes.
Baccarin found Deadpool's calendar love scene the biggest trial
While chatting with Conan O'Brien in 2017, Morena Baccarin explained that shooting "Deadpool" was an enjoyable experience — with one notable exception. "I did," Baccarin said when asked if she enjoyed working on "Deadpool." "I mean, minus the two days of sex scenes, it was a wonderful experience."
The steamy montage, in question, showed Wade and Vanessa going through the calendar year and celebrating every big holiday with a bang. There were a handful of alternate holidays that didn't make it in the movie in the end, but Baccarin was happy it went that way. "I literally mean that was enough sex," Baccarin said. "Like nobody needs to see more than what was in the movie!"
It wasn't the only time that getting close to her co-star proved an issue, either. When it came to kissing co-star Ryan Reynolds for "Deadpool 2," while he was in full make-up and not looking the best version of himself, Baccarin told People Magazine that that was also a challenging experience. "I keep saying that kissing him in that mask is like kissing a giant latex condom," Baccarin said. "It basically just smells like rubber the entire time."
Being the superhero's love interest does have its downsides, after all.