When Ryan Reynolds joins Jeff Bridges for next week’s action-soaked comic book adaptation R.I.P.D., the over-the-top violence and rampant gunplay will probably remind most comic book fans out there that we still don’t have a Deadpool movie in theaters yet. We don’t even have a direct-to-DVD animated Deadpool movie. All we have is a library of stellar comics, a few scenes with Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool’s alter ego Wade Wilson in Gavin Hood’s disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and an appearance in the Hulk Vs. Wolverine animation. Someone should be held accountable for this comic book movie malfeasance!
Reynolds, who has been attached to the Deadpool movie project in some form or another since 2007, recently gave an interview with Total Film Magazine, during which he spent a few minutes updating the potential for Deadpool's highly anticipated superhero movie. Keep your hopes close to home though, as we’re all still in the same boat we were yesterday.
"That movie is alive and kicking, and then it’s dead as a doornail. Then it’s alive and kicking and then it’s dead…it’s like the worse (sic) relationship I’ve ever had," Reynolds shared. "Everybody has a different idea as to how you’re supposed to do it, and for me, it’s been tough because it comes and goes like the tide…I never know where it is." Sounds like he’s just dripping with positivity, right? I mean, obviously the Deadpool movie is a tough sell, based on the project’s violent nature and self-referential comedy, but it can’t be that bad, right?
"It’s risky for everybody involved," he continued. "It’s not as commercial as they would like it to be. It’s a property that is excessively popular and successful, just as a comic property. So you certainly don’t want to mess that up. And if you’re a studio you certainly don’t want to put something out there that you can’t get back." It’s a good thing Reynolds is giving consideration to the movie studios, since Deadpool fans would probably gather in droves to put studio execs’ heads on pikes in order to get this movie made. I don't understand why they can't just make a low-risk $40 million Deadpool movie to test the waters. Not every major comic book film needs to break a $100 million budget just to be legitimate.
On a humorous note, Reynolds shares a fourth-wall breaking joke from the Deadpool movie "In the latest iteration of the script, Deadpool is aware of the Wolverine movie. He doesn’t say anything disparaging about it but he does at one point play with the Deadpool action figure with some curiosity." And he again expresses his assuredness that this is his role: "I know the character so well, but more than that, I know how to do it." But in the end, we’re still just left hoping Kick-Ass 2 destroys at the box office, which could help the Deadpool movie out if studios see that audiences aren’t afraid to spend money on R-rated comic book movies.
This kind of story gets my blood pressure rising, since I prematurely expect a Deadpool movie will be the most enjoyable film of whatever year it’s released in. In the meantime, play the recently released Deadpool game and check out the rollicking fanmade film Deadpool: A Typical Tuesday below.
UPDATE! Director Tim Miller claims the film is getting "closer to greenlight" in a recent interview. He vows they'll "never give up" and says, "Ryan is ready, I am ready, the fans are more than ready, we just need that elusive green light."
