‘Deadpool’ Coming to A Theater Near You in 2016

One of the most long-awaited Marvel-based films is finally moving ahead. 20th Century Fox has announced that Deadpool will be released on February 12th, 2016 with Ryan Reynolds attached. Tim Miller will direct from the script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), which is the script that has long had fans excited by the possibility.

The film has had a long road toward getting made. Plans were put in place ahead of X-Men Origins: Wolverine but the poor reaction to how Deadpool was treated in that film led to a delay. Reese and Wernick then got put on the project and wrote the script, which is said to be very much within the character’s trademarked irreverent (and distinctly R-rated) tone. That script made Fox hesitant to move ahead after similar R-rated superhero films like Kick-Ass weren’t huge successes. Recently a test reel footage hit the internet and received a deservedly-ecstatic reaction from fans, which may well have contributed to Fox’s decision to move ahead on the film.

Deadpool, real name Wade Wilson, is a mutate (i.e. someone given superpowers, as opposed to being born with them) who has an accelerated healing factor similar to Wolverine’s. He was part of the Weapon X project and while his backstory has been consistently vague, he has become a fan favorite due to his convention of breaking the fourth wall and taking wisecracking to a new level. He is an assassin and mercenary with a disfigured face and some serious mental stability issues; he has teamed with and clashed with the X-Men regularly.

The move came along with some shuffled release dates. The studio has taken Assasin’s Creed off the release calendar while moving The Fantastic Four from June 19th, 2015 to Assassin’s Creed’s just-vacated August 7th, 2015 date.

Below is the test reel created for Deadpool that sets the general tone we can look forward to seeing from this move. It should be noted that this test reel was created using CGI effects and it is unclear if the finished project would rely so heavily on CGI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoXGsv9nsNs

Photo: 20th Century Fox