Deadpool

How fans saved the Deadpool movie

When Deadpool hit cinemas in 2016, not even Ryan Reynolds or 20th Century Fox or the biggest Deadpool fan in the world probably expected such a breakthrough success. Deadpool was a box office hit, grossing almost 800 million dollars in cinemas, on a budget of 58 million. It made the top 10 films of the year, and at the time it was the most successful R-rated film (effectively the US version of an 18 certificate) in history. Deadpool was equally well received by critics, garnering nominations for 60 awards, of which it won 15. And, incredibly, it almost never happened! We take a look at the origin story for the merc with a mouth.

A decade of development hell

As early as May 2000, Artisan Entertainment struck a deal with Marvel for several film adaptations, including Deadpool. But things really took off in 2004, when David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) and Ryan Reynolds worked on Deadpool for New Line Cinema. Incidentally, the actor became aware of the project because the character in the comics once described himself as "Ryan Reynolds crossed with a Shar-Pei" (a breed of dog). Jeff Katz, then an executive at New Line, was fully behind the project but was never able to resolve the rights situation with 20th Century Fox. Which was no big deal, except a year later Fox itself expressed interest in a film adaptation. This eventually became X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but this really did not go down well with fans, especially because of the strange interpretation of Deadpool. In spite of this, the box-office figures were good enough for Fox to embark on a solo film that would be more oriented towards the comics.

In 2010, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were hired to write the screenplay. Reynolds praised them both highly because they "totally understand Deadpool". Their script was bursting with violence, innuendo and direct interactions with the audience. In other words, everything fans love about Deadpool. Fox, however, was less than enthusiastic: a violent 18+ film about a character hardly anyone knew? Thanks, but no thanks. The only thing that prevented the project from disappearing forever, was the leaking of the script online, which caused such a furore that Fox relented in 2011 and commissioned test footage from VFX artist Tim Miller.

The most famous leak in film history

Just when it looked like everything was going to work out, Ryan Reynolds' superhero movie Green Lantern hit the cinemas — and was an absolute disaster! Fox was already freaking out about Deadpool's age rating, and the financial hole left by Green Lantern spooked the studio even more. Not even the successful test footage could change that. And nor could James Cameron (Avatar) or David Fincher (Se7en), both old friends of Tim Miller who championed the project.

Once again, it took a leak and fan support to change the film's fortunes. In July 2014, the test footage was famously posted online (to this day, it's unclear who is responsible) and it went down so well with fans that Fox finally greenlit the project — albeit with an almost laughably small budget. The makers used this to their advantage and set up an unprecedented marketing campaign that sold Deadpool as a romantic comedy, among other things. Most importantly, Ryan Reynolds threw himself into an inimitable film promotion campaign. In some ways, he effectively became Deadpool, for example shooting a Halloween video in full costume with children dressed as X-Men. And asking them, um, age-appropriate things like, "Which of you has taken a human life?" The rest, as they say, is history.

Merc(h) with a mouth

This once again shows the power of the fans, without whom Deadpool, as we know and love him today, would never have made it into cinemas. The reward for fans (and us) was not just a fantastic film and sequel but also awesome Deadpool merchandise! From T-shirts to caps and collectible figures, there is everything you could want. But it wouldn't be Deadpool merch if things weren't a bit different here too. Unlike other brands, the most popular items include (who would have thought it?) Deadpool socks and anything depicting Deadpool with a unicorn! We reckon that's absolutely spot on! Because when it comes to Deadpool, especially Deadpool merch, the fans should be in charge. That is what we should learn from the origin story.