Ryan Reynolds, whose Deadpool spin-off has been stuck in development hell since X-Men Origins: Wolverine hit theaters in 2009, is still optimistic that the movie will be made. While doing interviews for his new action thriller Safe House, the actor added that the Deadpool film will no longer have any connection to the Hugh Jackman-starring prequel.
Screen Rant is reporting that despite Deadpool’s popularity beginning to wear off, Reynolds said he thinks the script is fantastic. He added:
It has been developed even further in the last three months or so. The film has to be rated R, and it has to be done a certain way, it has to do all these things that I am sure can worrisome for the guys cutting the checks for it. So if it’s going to be done, it needs to be done right.
Expanding on the R rating, Reynolds added that the budget would have to allow for big risks. The film would also have to do things that most superhero movies haven’t done yet.
Reynolds also spoke of another superhero film that he appeared in, last year’s flop Green Lantern. When asked about doing a follow-up, he said:
I have no idea (about the chances of a Green Lantern 2). These movies have huge scale budgets and those kinds of things. Working in budget world like that is not fun, because you have a lot of investment and outcome. But if we end up doing a Deadpool movie that could be a lot of fun.
With Reynolds sounding unenthusiastic about staying within a certain budget for a Green Lantern sequel, combined with the negative reviews and poor box office return of the original, the chances of moving forward with the franchise seem unlikely.
It seems more likely that a Deadpool spin-off would fare better, despite X-Men Origins: Wolverine not being one of the favorite film adaptations in the comic book franchise. While the movie character was very different than the comic character, Deadpool is still beloved by fans. Plus, Blade proved that R-rated action/superhero films could be successful so who knows, this one may work.