When 20th Century Fox officially put the Deadpool movie on their release schedule, they forgot to include one key detail about the project. It was said that first-time filmmaker Tim Miller would be directing based on the long in-development script by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese - but what wasn't confirmed was the return of Ryan Reynolds. After playing the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, many assumed that the actor would be back, but an official announcement has not been made. That being said, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has now gone on record saying that there is no other star who could bring the character to life on the big screen.
Liefeld was a guest during a panel at this weekend's Comikaze 2014 expo in Los Angeles, and addressed the subject when directly asked if Ryan Reynolds would be the actor starring in the Deadpool movie. According to ComicBook.com, the writer/artist answered by saying that there really is no other choice than the Canadian comedian for the role. Said Liefeld,
"Ryan is Deadpool. Look, Ryan Reynolds, he’s gone through that same career arc, the guy is ridiculously talented. He has a huge, huge passion for Deadpool. Deadpool’s not happening, because he was a giant star, they said, ‘Ryan, what do you want to do?’ And he said, ‘Deadpool.’ That’s why it happened. They would have no faith otherwise. That movie is because of his passion. He put together the team."
Going back into the history of the Deadpool film, you'll discover that Liefeld is not joking around. When Rheet Reese and Paul Wernick were first working on the script back in 2010, Reynolds was literally talking with them every day about the best direction for the character and the story. Of course, that was more than a full year before summer 2011 and the release of Green Lantern and The Change-Up - both ultimately doing their part to poison Reynolds' career. But it now sounds like those flops are in the past and Deadpool will be the star's chance at big screen redemption.
Apparently the question of Ryan Reynolds' involvement wasn't the only question that Rob Liefeld answered about the project during the convention, however, as there were many fans who were under the assumption that the project had been cancelled. Apparently, this confusion was caused by the announcement of Marvel Studios' slate last week, which didn't include Deadpool. Of course, as Liefeld pointed out on his personal Twitter, this was simply because the project is in development at Fox. In order to fix these kinds of mix-ups in the future, the writer/artist had a pretty good idea:
Deadpool will be in theaters on February 12, 2016.
