With the release of Deadpool, 20th Century Fox has finally banished the ghost of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, giving fans a faithful interpretation of the Merc with a Mouth after his horrendous big screen debut in 2009.
During a Talks at Google presentation this week (via Comic Book), Reynolds has been discussing why he agreed to portray the character in Origins, stating that he had an agreement for a subsequent solo movie, and felt “blackmailed” into appearing:
“They sew his mouth shut, let lasers come out of his eyes. He has weird knives that fly out of his hands. I remember saying, ‘That’s really going to anger some people. That’s not Deadpool.’ And they basically said, ‘Well, you can play him or we can hire someone else to play him.’ So for me it was…I was a little bit blackmailed.”
SEE ALSO: Director Tim Miller discusses Deadpool’s time in development hell, says Fox “didn’t get it”
Check out the full video here…
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Deadpool is set for release on February 10th in the UK and February 12th in the States and sees Ryan Reynolds reprising the role of the Merc with a Mouth alongside T.J. Miller (Transformers: Age of Extinction) as Weasel, Morena Baccarin (Gotham) as Copycat, Gina Carano (Fast & Furious 6) as Angel Dust, Ed Skrein (Game of Thrones) as Ajax, Stefan Kapicic (24) as Colossus, Leslie Uggams (Roots) as Blind Al and newcomer Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
Originally published February 16, 2016. Updated October 25, 2022.
