The superhero genre is a powerful force in the entertainment industry, but a few franchises have stood out and brought something wholly originally to the table. Case in point: Deadpool, which proved that an R-rated comic book movie could still make a ton of money at the box office. And Ryan Reynolds can’t stop, won’t stop joking about Deadpool’s leaked footage.
The first two Deadpool movies were massive critical and box office successes, but they weren’t always a sure thing. Ryan Reynolds had a hard time selling the Merc with the Mouth, but that changed when test footage leaked online and the public went bananas. Reynolds has long poked fun at the leak, not-so-subtly suggesting he put out the footage himself. And in a recent conversation at the Cannes Lions (via Deadline), the actor-writer-producer once again poked fun at the infamous leak, saying:
I spent 10 years trying to get the film Deadpool made -- it was hell. We shot some test footage, some absolute bastard leaked it onto the internet, and that's what got the movie made.
He’s not wrong. Ryan Reynolds debuted as Wade Wilson back in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, although the depiction of the character failed to impress comic book purists. It wasn’t until 2016 that the original Deadpool movie finally hit theaters and became a sensation. And that’s at least partly thanks to the test footage making its way online.
Ryan Reynolds’ comments about Deadpool’s road to theaters help to show how complicated the process of making a movie can be. If it’s not a tried and true method, studios might be reluctant to fund the movie. Ultimately Ryan Reynolds’ superhero flick (and its sequel) was a huge success, but its budget was a fraction of what it takes to make projects like Avengers: Endgame into a reality. In the same story, Reynolds addressed this disparity, saying:
The studio [20th Century Fox] never really believed in it so they gave us absolutely nothing compared with other comic movies. We had to make every dollar feel like ten. As we did this, I was learning lessons left, right and center. We started to really know and play with the cultural landscape of the character. During the movie, we replaced spectacle with character and I saw that it worked just as well.
Touche. What the first Deadpool lacked in giant action set pieces, it made up with Ryan Reynolds’ signature sense of humor and the title character's penchant for breaking the fourth wall. Add in the various jabs that have been aimed at both the DCEU and MCU, and audiences were sold. And after the movie’s massive success, the sequel was given double the budget. And as such, more Marvel characters including the Juggernaut were added.
It’s currently unclear when Deadpool 3 will begin production or be released, but fans are excited to see the Merc with the Mouth finally join the MCU. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
