After years of talk that never went anywhere, the Ryan Reynolds-starring Deadpool movie is finally rolling. Since getting the green light last fall, things have moved forward at a fairly rapid clip. How far along are they? Well, Reynolds has been tweeting from the Deadpool set, so that should give you a pretty good clue about where they’re at.
Reynolds has been trying to get a movie based on the talkative Marvel assassin for years, since even before he played a version of the character in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Eventually it just started to feel like one of those passion projects that was doomed to be discussed forever, almost come to fruition a couple of times, but never actually happen.
A part of the Weapon X program that figures so prominently into Wolverine’s story, Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, is a killer who specializes in using swords, martial arts, and running his mouth. As you can imagine, the source material is super violent, which is going to be something first-time director Tim Miller is going to have to rein in since they’re shooting for a PG-13 rating. Though Reynolds recently said he thinks their film will please even the most rabid fanboys, this is one element people are definitely keeping an eye on. Deadpool is also prone to breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the audiences, and we’re curious to see if they keep these more meta flourishes.
Reynolds, however, isn’t the only participant excited about Deadpool, and he isn’t the only star using social media to whet fan appetites. We know a few things about the movie so far, but over the last few days, both Morena Baccarin and T.J. Miller have used Twitter to reveal the identity of their characters.
Baccarin tweeted a similar picture to the one Reynolds revealed, showing off her chair with the Deadpool logo and the name "Vanessa." Fans of the comics take this to mean that she’s playing Vanessa Carlysle, a shape-shifting mutant from the Marvel universe who is also known as Copycat. She started her comic book life as a Boston prostitute who met and fell in love with Wade Wilson, only to become involved with the Weapon X program. Parts of this role are going to require Baccarin to wear heavy make up, so it is going to be interesting to see if they tweak her appearance some, since she has blue skin and, depending on the character design, could come across looking a bit like Mystique from the X-Men movies.
Miller indicated that he’s playing Weasel, a recurring character who joined the comics in 1993. You probably guessed his parents didn’t name him Weasel, and you’re right. That is the alter ego of Jack Hammer, a super smart high school kid who had a bright future until he met Deadpool and turned down a much, much darker path.
Deadpool hits theaters February 12, 2016.
