Fox Finally Commits to Long Anticipated ‘Deadpool’ Movie, Sets 2016 Release Date

Comic book fans have wanted to see Marvel's Deadpool on the big screen for a long time. However, everyone knew that, to do it right, a Deadpool movie would have to be extremely violent, and that made Fox hesitant to move forward with the proposed project. After all, an R rating would bar a good chunk of their target demographic—i.e., boys under the age of 18—from seeing the film in theaters. And so for a while it seemed like Deadpool would never escape development limo.

However, that all changed back in July when some test footage shot by would-be director Tim Miller leaked online. The reaction from fans was overwhelmingly positive, and the buzz got the development ball rolling again.

Now Fox has made it official. Deadpool is really happening. And not only that, it actually has a release date: February 12, 2016.

So far we only know that Tim Miller will direct, but it won't be long before Fox announces that Ryan Reynolds will star. Reynolds played the loquacious anti-hero in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and—along with Miller, writer Rhett Reese, and creator Robert Liefield—has been lobbying for a standalone Deadpool movie ever since. Plus you know he'd love to pull a Ben Affleck and get a superhero do-over. (Remember 2011's Green Lantern? No? Exactly.)

Of course, Miller and company are going to have to move fast to get this movie done on time. So expect a lot of casting announcements over the next few weeks.

[via Variety]