By Joe Utichi / Photographed by Guy Aroch
RYAN REYNOLDS knows a thing or two about comic-book movies. His first flirtation with the medium was Blade: Trinity in 2004, by which point the Canadian actor had established himself as movie star thanks to a breakthrough turn in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.
It was his role in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine that first put Deadpool on his docket. The Marvel Comics character, created in 1991 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, made an appearance at that film’s finale that was supposed to set up a standalone movie, but given his comic book alter ego was dubbed “The Merc with a Mouth,” it was a surprise to fans that his mouth was sewn shut for his climactic battle with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Deadpool, opening this February 10 in local cinemas (will also be on Imax screens) from 20th Century Fox, is adapted from the Marvel Comics character created in 1991 by Nicieza and Liefeld, tells the origin story of Wade Wilson (Reynolds), whose terminal cancer is “cured” by the same Weapon X program that created Wolverine, leaving him permanently disfigured, but impervious to pain and able to regenerate from his wounds.
Dubbed “The Merc with a Mouth,” Deadpool is a pop culture-literate antihero unique among comic-book characters in that he can break the fourth wall and flip superhero conventions on their head. Deadpool is directed by Tim Miller.
Expect plenty of wry humor in the movie, directed at Reynolds’s own experiences in the comic book world, which also include turns in Green Lantern and R.I.P.D. The first teaser, which debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con, came with a knowing voiceover: “From the studio that inexplicably sewed his mouth shut the first time, comes five-time Academy Award viewer Ryan Reynolds….”
In the following Q&A, Reynolds talks about his love of the character’s self-deprecation, and the long journey to bring him to the big screen in his own movie.
Where does your interest in this character begin?
The comics were sent to me in bulk in 2004. I read them and loved them. I loved this character and couldn’t believe I didn’t know about it already. I became a little obsessed with the idea of him, too—the idea that he’s meta and breaks the fourth wall, and he’s self-loathing and self-deprecating. I was pretty fascinated by it. But I think most people just didn’t know what to do with it, because it was kind of obscure and odd and a very weird thing to turn into a movie. Finally, we were given a little seed money from Fox, who paid Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to write a Deadpool script. We all locked ourselves in a room for four or five weeks and hammered out what the story would be.
And then it just stalled again, until they gave us a little more seed money to make a short presentation, which is what leaked online and that was what got this movie made. And the studio said, “You’re going to make your movie, but it’ll be for the catering budget of most superhero movies.”
We said, “Fine, let’s go. We’ll figure it out.” Since then, it’s been about putting every last penny on the screen, and here we are. The studio let us be, and everyone’s been really supportive.
There’s a lot of self-deprecation in the movie, and Green Lantern is a topic that comes up more than once. Was the movie therapy for you?
It was, and the studio has been surprisingly alright with all our X-Men and Wolverine references. I find you can always take the piss out of someone as long as the subtext is you’re taking the piss out of yourself, too. The movie doesn’t ever really pick on any one public figure without alternatively taking a stab at Reynolds.
It takes a brave actor to put themselves through that.
I mean, I started in this industry not taking myself seriously, and I think I recognized early on—at 19 years old—that that’s what got my foot in the door. I liked having my foot in the door, so I wasn’t going to stop doing that. I’ve never taken myself very seriously, and there’s lots of material there to make fun of. [Laughs]
Was the movie always going to be the origin story, and was Ajax always going to be the villain?
There were certain characters we wanted and couldn’t get. It all comes down to licensing, and Marvel owns certain ancillary characters. We did have Garrison Kane at one point, too, but Ajax was just sort of perfect.
He fed into the origin story we were telling and allowed us to create a fully fledged-out movie. But there are little Easter eggs with other characters that may or may not show up down the line.
You’ve said Deadpool will be the last comic book character you play. Is that still how you feel?
Oh yeah, I’ve had my spin around that merry-go-round more than I probably should have, and I feel Deadpool is something I’ve wanted to do forever, so it does to a certain degree feel a bit like a homecoming to me. And he’s not a superhero, he’s an antihero and something completely different.
It speaks directly to the comic book audience, and I’m for that, 100 percent. If it were a traditional superhero movie, it wouldn’t be for me. They wouldn’t hire me, let alone me putting my hand up for it. I’ve done it, I’ve played that kind of character, and it’s time for someone else to do it.
In a way, it feels timely the movie is coming out now. Deadpool feels like a bit of an antidote to all the superhero movies we’re seeing these days.
Yeah, and that’s why we’re actually happy it took so long to get made. It’s coming along at a perfect time. I don’t know if audiences are fatigued by superhero fare; I think that’s subjective. They’re still coming out to see them in droves. But regardless, they’re fluent in this language now, and it’s a great time to be able to put out Deadpool because it’s going to speak directly to that language.