Rejoice, devoted Deadpool fans! The event we have all been waiting for is finally upon us! An official date has been set for the Deadpool movie! February 12, 2016, the fateful date, is only two days removed from the 25th anniversary of our favorite katana wielding, scarlet-clad, merc with a mouth, providing an awesome birthday celebration for all.
After many years of stagnation, 20th Century Fox has finally greenlit the project, set to begin shooting next month, with Ryan Reynolds reprising his title role. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writers of Zombieland, penned the script, and special effects master Tim Miller, who has worked on X Men, X Men 2, and Thor: The Dark World, is set to direct. Tim is also the creator of the infamous leaked test footage, created three years ago to get a visual sample of what a Deadpool movie might look like.
The script was leaked online three years ago, and the majority of fans wholeheartedly embraced it (not an easy feat by comic movie standards), but it was not enough to get production started on the film. The project had gone into movie limbo for three years when an anonymous do-gooder leaked the test footage online. The action-packed short fulfilled the wet dreams of Deadpool fans everywhere (myself included), and the huge response finally got producers to take notice. When asked recently about how the project finally got on the fast track, Reynolds replied, “Exclusively the leaked test footage, one hundred percent.” When asked about who leaked it, he denied knowledge, but admitted that he would have done it himself if he knew the backlash it would have caused. Check out the footage here!
How awe-inspiring was that!?!? This juicy little tidbit of amazing is enough to get our glands salivating and hearts yearning for more. Speculation runs rampant about what the movie’s rating will be, while many diehards are pushing for an R rating, others propose that the comics censor foul language and usually don’t get too graphic when it comes to the blood and gore, so a PG-13 rating would suffice. The test footage is definitely R-rated, and the script is said to be a hard R, a la Zombieland. While there has not been a lot of success with R-rated comic movies in the past, the triumphs of The Watchmen and Kick-Ass prove that it is indeed possible for them to thrive, and with the right team in place, adult comic fans can finally get a series of quality, R-rated mutant movies.
DEADPOOL MOVIE UPDATE!! THE RATING HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED! SEE THE HILARIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT AND MORE HERE!
What series of mutant movies would be rated R you ask? X-Force has always had a militant, more mature tone, and also fits nicely into the merc-with-a-mouth’s universe. Deadpool’s been besties with the leader of X-Force Cable, who will probably make an appearance in this movie (at least an after credits scene), Domino is also a member of X-Force who frequents Deadpool storylines, and even Deadpool himself has been a member of X-Force briefly. These signs point to the Deadpool movie introducing some of the X-Force movie characters, and starting the X-Force series strong with a hard-R rated movie. It would be a natural fit for the more mercenary-oriented X-Force franchise.