Earlier this year, a chunk of never-before-seen test footage from Tim Miller’s shelved Deadpool movie hit the web. After the echoes of its rapturous reception died down, the powers that be began to sit up and take notice. If countless legions of Deadpool fans the world over were going this ballistic over it… was it worth taking a chance and kickstarting the movie again? Soon after, an official release date was announced and development began.
That was just under three months ago, and word on the project has since quietened down. Now, thanks to a report from Deadline, one thing we can definitely count on is the return of Ryan Reynolds. According to their scoop, the actor who brought the verbose Wade Wilson/Deadpool to screens in X-Men Origins: Wolverine is close to finalizing a deal with the studio to reprise the role. It was unlikely Fox would cast anyone else in the lead for their X-Men spinoff, especially since Reynolds was a big part of what made the leaked footage such a hit.
In fact, his turn as the mouthy mercenary in the unfortunate Wolvie solo pic was that movie’s saving grace. Adding a tinge of the playful to an otherwise po-faced film, Reynolds stole every scene he was in. His performance sparked rumours circa 2009 that a solo Deadpool flick was en route, but it’s taken a long time for it to reach this current state of development.
At this point in time, there’s still a long way to go before Reynolds’ deal is finalized and concrete story details are announced. However, we do know that according to X-Men writer Simon Kinberg, Deadpool’s big screen antics will be a part of the larger X-Men cinematic universe. With production expected to begin in March, we can look forward to more sneaky reveals from then until Deadpool hits theatres on February 12th, 2016.
