It was announced this week that former Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds will be returning to his hometown to shoot yet another superhero movie.
The 38-year-old Kitsilano Secondary grad will be taking another stab at playing Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, who was last seen being tossed into an expolding vat of chemicals after being decapitated by Hugh Jackman in the regrettable X-Men Origins: Wolverine back in 2009.
Among the many things that movie got wrong was turning “the Merc with a Mouth,” portrayed in the comics as a wise-cracking, R-rated anti-hero prone to breaking the fourth wall and addressing readers, into an entirely different character who could instead absorb the powers of fellow mutants as part of the Weapon X program.
It was probably the worst example of a movie giving a popular comic book character new powers since Richard Lester inexplicably made Superman tear off his logo and throw it at Non in Superman II.
The new Deadpool movie, directed by big-screen newcomer Tim Miller, will reportedly be a reboot and ignore the unfortunate series of events from his last cinematic outing. (If unfamiliar with the character or the Marvel Universe in general, having had his head chopped off would not necessarily be a problem for him because Deadpool’s sole canonical superpower is immortality thanks to an ability to heal from any injury.)
Judging by leaked teaser footage, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick intend to go back to playing the murderous, mentally ill mercenary for laughs.
Although it raises an interesting problem: Deadpool always wears a mask due to having hideous facial disfigurement. What’s the thinking behind having him played by a one-time Sexiest Man Alive? Will the whole thing be CGI with Reynolds simply doing voiceover work?
Shooting is scheduled to begin in Vancouver in late March and the film is expected to come out in February 2016. So far Reynolds' casting is the only one confirmed, although some fans no doubt have their fingers crossed that fellow Canadian Jim Carrey, who has experience with both superhero AND Deadpool movies, may somehow come aboard.
