Olivia Munn Turned Down 'Deadpool' Because She Didn't Want to Just Be 'The Girlfriend'
Olivia Munn (Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Olivia Munn wants to be a butt kicker, not a sidekick. And that’s why she decided not to be in Deadpool.
In an interview with American Way, American Airlines’ in-flight magazine, the former Daily Show correspondent says she was offered the part of Vanessa, the girlfriend of Ryan Reynolds’ profanity-spewing superhero, but turned it down because she didn’t want to play “the girlfriend.” The role went to Morena Baccarin instead and Munn moved on to take the part of Psylocke in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. Her primary reason for saying yes to that film, according to the article? Because she was promised the opportunity to fight.
Related: Olivia Munn Shows Off Her ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Sword Skills
“I said, ‘Is there a fight scene?’ ” Munn says of her conversations with the X-Men filmmakers. When she got the impression the role might involve more talking than punching, she suggested: “The fight scene could be her monologue.”
Munn’s decision to say no to Deadpool could be perceived as a big mistake given that movie’s box office success. (One also could argue that she did the right thing since, as our Ethan Alter argued earlier this year, Vanessa is reimagined in the movie as much more of a “token girlfriend” character.) But it doesn’t sound like Munn is worried about missing out on the Deadpool love. In the article, she sounds more concerned about whether her work on X-Men will pan out the way she hopes.
Related: Does ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Herald an Era of Comic Book Costuming in Movies?
From the story: “Months before the film’s release, Munn was prepared to be disappointed. ‘You can do the first-look cover on Entertainment Weekly,’ she says, ‘but if they’ve chopped up some stuff or taken out moments and the fight scene is reduced for whatever reason, then the moment is gone.’”
In conclusion, Olivia Munn really, really wants to bust some heads for cinematic purposes. Producers, studios, filmmakers: do with that information what you will.
Watch a video about Olivia Munn’s choice:
