X-Men Origins: Deadpool Gets a Director, But Will Ryan Reynolds Get His R-Rating?

Movie Line
Deadline reports that visual effects veteran Tim Miller (X-Men, X2, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) has graduated to the helm of Fox’s X-Men Origins: Deadpool, which is currently being written by Zombieland scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. But with its star currently carrying another studio’s comic book tent pole (Green Lantern), how soon will Deadpool happen with Reynolds — and will it be the Deadpool movie that Reynolds wants to make?

Speaking last weekend at WonderCon, Reynolds expressed a desire to reprise his role as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, the disfigured mercenary he played in 2009’s Wolverine, but didn’t reveal anything in the way of when said film would happen. Moreover, Reynolds insisted that if a Deadpool film did come to pass, it would be done the “right” way — as a hard R.

At the time, that kind of candid, crowd-pleasing admission seemed to suggest that either Reynolds had serious input into the future of a Deadpool film, or that his hopes for said film were so unlikely to happen that he could make wild promises in the hypothetical. A few weeks ago, producer Lauren Shuler Donner described Deadpool as an R-rated comedy, adding that Reynolds was closely involved in the scripting process.

Fox hiring Miller on as director moves the project one step closer to fruition, so the good news for those who were skeptical in the face of Reynolds’ promise is that it looks like it really could happen. Screenwriters Reese and Wernick seem to be the right guys to pen a cheeky, violent R-rated Deadpool movie.

But another thing: Deadline’s report notes that Reynolds is “expected to star,” but with this summer’s Green Lantern leading into potential sequels, he might be very busy juggling his other comic book movie obligations. Plus, as the only actor starring in both DC and Marvel comic book film franchises in the near future, how will he ever pick a side?

· ‘X-Men’ VFX Wiz Tim Miller To Direct ‘Deadpool’ [Deadline]