20th Century FoxDeadpool isn't dead after all.
The long rumored X-Men spinoff has been given a release date of Feb. 12, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news Thursday. It's likely that Ryan Reynolds will reprise his role, although no deal is set. Tim Miller will direct the Marvel Comics movie.
Reynolds played human Wade Wilson in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine (co-starring Hugh Jackman), while actor Scott Adkins played Deadpool after Wilson was transformed into a fast-healing mercenary. The talkative and humorous anti-hero first appeared in Marvel Comics' New Mutants #98 (Feb. 1991)
Twentieth Century Fox hired Miller in 2011. He's done visual effects for X-Men, X-Men 2 and Daredevil. Earlier this year, test footage of Reynolds as Deadpool leaked online, reigniting interest in the project.
About three weeks ago, Reynolds weighed in on the unauthorized video. "The movie has been in a state of limbo for a while. There was such an overpowering reaction to the footage, you sort of feel like, 'Oh, so we weren't crazy for our reasons for loving this character, for loving this role.' It's interesting to see the power of the Internet. It's awe-inspiring, actually," he told The Niagara Falls Review. "And it's neat that Twitter and Facebook and Instagram can move mountains when used in the right way."
Reynolds predicted the movie would be made "in our lifetime." Speaking to Yahoo! U.K. in 2013, he said, "I think if I were a betting man, it'll get made, eventually. I mean, it's just been developed to high heaven."
The actor, who also played DC Comics' Green Lantern, hopes the film has an R rating, saying, "It needs those elements. It's very meta. I mean, the character knows he's in a movie. He knows he's in a comic book. He names studio executives in the script. So, it's kind of a risky property. But, you know, we'll see."
Meanwhile, X-Men: Apocalypse—starring Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy and Evan Peters—is scheduled for release on May 27, 2016. Additionally, a currently untitled Wolverine sequel—starring Jackman in the title role—will arrive in theaters on March 3, 2017.