Hey, you! Whatever you’re doing right now, stop immediately and check out the leaked test footage for Tim Miller’s shelved Deadpool movie starring Ryan Reynolds. While it’s an animated bit showcasing the tone and excitement of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s solo film for everyone’s favorite chimichanga-loving comic book hero, the footage is an absolute blast from start to finish, honing in on everything that makes this mercenary such a beloved character.
Please, take a look at the footage below, and then let’s discuss why Hollywood needs to act on this property right now!
If you know anything about the character Deadpool, than you understand how mightily Ryan Reynolds was wasted throughout most of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While the actor was a bit of perfect casting, it’s writers David Benioff and Skip Woods who made the sacrilegious mistake of taking a character known as “The Merc With The Mouth” and removing his most defining feature – HIS MOUTH. Deadpool is known for his fourth-wall-breaking antics, talking to the audience while showcasing masterful assassin skills, yet we found Wolverine battling the equivalent of a mouthless robot, with Reynold’s signiture wit nowhere to be found. This still remains as one of the most egregious character errors ever in my book.
Enter Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, director Tim Miller, and Reynolds himself, all outspoken promoters of a true Deadpool movie that captures why Reynolds was cast in the first place. Generating a hard-R script worthy of Deadpool’s raunchy sense of humor and vast arsenal of ass-kicking, Miller and his team compiled this test footage (much like Edgar Wright did for Ant-Man) to give a tiny taste of what studios could expect, bringing in Reynolds for voiceover and motion capture work. Only being one short scene, we get EVERYTHING we could want from Deadpool including close-quarters intensity and hilarious jokes like the pre-kill drawing, yet for some reason this property still sits untouched.
This, my friends, is an absolute travesty. I understand that Twentieth Century Fox is only really interested in PG-13 moneymakers that can tie into the overall Marvel-verse, but what seems to be a dynamite Deadpool story is sitting around collecting dust, and there’s a definite expiration date counting down. Reynolds is born to play the role, and once he passes a certain age, his superhero days will be over. The time to act is now, but I don’t see studios rushing too quickly into an R-rated gamble, even though fanboys have been clamoring for redemption.
This test footage rules, representing everything I want in a Deadpool movie, and I’d hate to see this golden opportunity pass by, so Twentieth Century Fox, if you’re listening, PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING. I know you’re more interested in Marvel properties that can tie into the bigger universe, but Deadpool could command a huge audience in his own right. If you’re not willing to let this movie be made under your label, fine – sell the rights elsewhere. There’s a cult superhero hit waiting to explode here, and if you don’t make a move soon, someone else will, but you’re going to regret it.
I’m not the only one digging this footage, right? What do you think of this short little Deadpool tease?