It's been a while since we last heard anything about the Deadpool movie, and with good reason, as Ryan Reynolds has been spending most of the year dressing up as the Green Lantern. The last bit of news we did hear, however, was quite terrific, with Reynolds commenting at the Sundance Film Festival that he and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick had been in contact every day talking about the film. Since then, all development has maintained radio silence, but now Fox thinks it has found the right man for the director's chair.
The Playlist, via Production Weekly, reports that Robert Rodriguez has been offered the chance to direct Deadpool. In the last few months it has appeared Fox is quite sweet on Rodriguez, producing Predators, distributing Machete and offering him the Planet of the Apes prequel (though he turned the last one down). The Playlist has confirmed the offer through a source, though nothing has been made official yet, the director still thinking about it.
This story is going to polarize, so allow me to tell you why it's a good idea. Unlike most Marvel characters, Deadpool has no conscience. If Jiminy Cricket were to use his little umbrella to land on Deadpool's shoulder, Deadpool would blow him away with a shotgun. He is a violent, uncaring, amoral mercenary with no consideration for human life. In order to get that across in a film you need a director with two things: 1) balls, and 2) studio favor. Robert Rodriguez happens to have both. While I can't speak to his knowledge of the character, he knows how to film action and stretch limits. Fox is probably going to want to avoid the R-rating (which is truly unfortunate), but Rodriguez, who is known only for R films whenever he is not doing his kiddie crap, may be able to persuade them to keep a little more in than they otherwise would. There may be another director out there who could do it better, but Rodriguez is far from a bad choice.
