How to use this Page

Actually DEADPOOL was going to host back in the 90s, but then this happened. Thank god Tom Hanks was available.https://t.co/7pyPEMysdY

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) February 20, 2016

Andrew Stege, a fan of the Deadpool film adaptation, has launched a Change.org petition. He hopes to encourage producer Lorne Michaels, actor Ryan Reynolds, and NBC to allow the “Merc with a Mouth” to host an episode of Saturday Night Live.

So far, the petition has drawn more than 72,000 signatures. Recently, Reynolds responded with a tweet (embedded above) that claims Deadpool was “going to host back in the 90s, but then this happened.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Reynolds and his alter-ego have been making waves at the box office — the R-rated film grossed a record-breaking $132.7 million over its debut weekend, giving it one of the best showings ever for a superhero film.” Click on these links to watch an IMAX trailer, a teaser trailer, the red band version of the first trailer, and the second trailer. (via A.V. Club)

We're talking comic book movies on this week's Podcorn Podcast!

Big estimates have allowed Fox to turn on the green-light

We review The Merc with a Mouth's big screen adventure

20th Century Fox unleashed a new trailer for the Deadpool film adaptation to conclude the “12 Days of Deadpool” promotional campaign.  The studio created two versions of this second trailer: a red band edition and a green band edition.

The video embedded above features Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (a.k.a. Wade Wilson) and Morena Baccarin as Copycat (a.k.a. Vanessa Carlysle). Some of the other cast members include T. J. Miller, Ed Skrein, and Gina Carano.

This movie has been scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 12, 2016. Click on these links to watch an IMAX trailer, a teaser trailer, and the red band version of the first trailer.

The Merc with the Mouth's latest trailer comes in two versions

How will you be counting down the days until Christmas? Comic book fans can enjoy the “12 Days of Deadpool.”

The video embedded above features the antiheroic mercenary announcing this special promotional campaign for the highly anticipated film adaptation. Entertainment Weekly reports that for day one, the movie studio has unveiled a new promotional poster (embedded below).

According to Comic Book Resources, the design of this piece pays homage to “Tim Burton’s Batman film. Specifically, one of Jack Nicholson’s most famous Joker Lines: ‘Wait’ll they get a load of me.'” This movie, helmed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds, will be released on Feb. 12, 2016. Click here to watch the first trailer. (via The Mary Sue)

How did actor Ryan Reynolds spend his Halloween? He shot a video of himself walking around as Deadpool.

The video embedded above features Reynolds and a band of children wearing comicbook character costumes. Reynolds will once again be seen as the antiheroic mercenary in the Deadpool movie.

The theatrical release date for that film adaptation has been set for Feb. 12, 2016. Follow this link to watch a red band trailer.

A version of this trailer debuted at SDCC, but now you too can get a glimpse at what just a few thousand got to see in person a few weeks ago (unless you watched a bootleg cam recording). Debuting on tonight’s “Conan”, here’s the red-band, very R-rated, Deadpool trailer:

In an image posted today on his Twitter account, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds is all suited up to reprise his old role of Wade Wilson.

This is definitely a far cry from the days of the “sewn-up mouth” Deadpool that appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I think it’s pretty safe to assume they won’t even acknowledge that such a thing even happened, unless it’s in a fun fourth-wall breaking way.

This Deadpool basically looks like the costume as it appeared in the all-CGI proof of concept footage that leaked out last Summer, and received such a rapturous reception that this retooled take on the character got a green light right away.

Here’s the official synopsis of the film, directed by Tim Miller, which releases on February 12, 2016:

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 keeps adding to their growing cast, and they now have their female lead as Morena Baccarin (Homeland, Firefly) has signed onto the X-Men spinoff.

Who she’s playing is being kept under wraps, but THR reports that she’ll be playing the love interest of Ryan Reynolds‘ Wade Wilson.

Baccarin had fairly stiff competition for the unnamed role including Orange Is The New Black star Taylor Schilling, Jessica De Gouw, Crystal Reed, Rebecca Rittenhouse, and Sarah Greene.

The popular actress joins Reynolds, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, and whoever is cast in the still unfilled role of Colossus, as Daniel Cudmore recently stated that he will not be returning.

Deadpool, directed by Tim Miller with a script from Rhett Reese, hits theaters on February 12, 2016.

And we were just talking about Deadpool yesterday…

Former mixed martial artist and Haywire star Gina Carano has signed on to the Ryan Reynolds starring X-Men spin-off. THR has relayed that she’ll be playing a character named Angel Dust, and while my X-Men universe knowledge is deplorable, I understand she’s a part of the Morlocks.

It was only a matter of time before one of these superhero flicks picked up Carano, whose action chops are impeccable.

Additionally they report that T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley) is in place for a comic relief role, and that Colossus will also be returning for the picture. There’s no indication whether or not Daniel Cudmore will still be playing him, but fans of the character have to be a little excited that there’s a chance he’ll get some of the spotlight finally.

Here’s their description of the film, directed by Tim Miller and scheduled to open on February 12, 2016:

Reynolds is an assassin who is dying of cancer who undergoes a procedure that is supposed to cure him but ends up twisted and scarred while also imbued with super-powers.

It’s almost the end of the week, so let’s gather up a few more of today’s entertainment headlines:

– While on the press circuit promoting their new film, Focus, Will Smith and Margot Robbie discussed with USA Today the casting situation with the now-vacant Rick Flagg role in David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad:

Robbie: This happens all the time. People act like, ‘Oh my god, the movie must be ending!’ It’s just the deal with movies.” Not to mention “a lot of the characters haven’t been portrayed before so it’s a pretty big undertaking. And it’s a big undertaking for the people who are going to play the characters who have been played, like the Joker (to be played by Jared Leto). It’s big shoes to fill.

Smith:  Ayer “turned the screenplay in before Christmas. What happens is Hollywood shuts down. But he was still working and he wanted to (start shooting) April 13th. So it takes a couple weeks to gear back up at the top of the year and people have taken (other) movies. He’s moving really quickly.

A few days ago, Umberto Gonzalez over at Latino-Review stated on Twitter that the Rick Flagg casting may be announced this week. We still have a day to go, so it’s possible that we may see some resolution there. I’m going to throw my money on Joel Edgerton, but it’s probably just because I just saw Zero Dark Thirty again on FX last night.

– Ryan Reynolds took to twitter today and celebrated being one year out from the release of 2016’s Deadpool, teasing fans with the mask that will be used in the upcoming film:

Sepia tone disguises the fact the mask is ballerina pink. It’s early. 365 sleeps early. #deadpool #prototypes pic.twitter.com/PekFa2KS7S

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) February 12, 2015

The fact that they’re even using a mask is cause for some celebration.

– It’s been some time since Sam Hamm had last been on the scene. The Tim Burton Batman, Monkeybone, and one-time Watchmen screenwriter’s most recent on-screen credit was for an episode of Masters of Horror about ten years ago. That all changes today, as Viz Entertainment has announced that Hamm will be adapting Sayuri Ueda‘s short story The Street of Fruiting Bodies, which originated in the Phantasm Japan anthology, into a feature-length film. That anthology, it’s worth noting, comes from the same imprint (Viz Media’s Haikasoru) as All You Need Is Kill, which was eventually adapted into last year’s Edge of Tomorrow.

Viz describes the story in detail:

The Street of Fruiting Bodies depicts the sudden spread of a mysterious and lethal species of hallucinogenic mushroom. The infestation is deadly, but it also offers visions of deceased loved ones to the infected, hinting at the reality of an afterlife, or at least a new kind of existence that is beyond human comprehension.

Hamm elaborates on the project:

Ueda creates a world in which the most profound human emotions – love, grief, longing, and hope – can lead to one’s salvation or one’s undoing, and the true horror is that it may be impossible to tell the difference. ‘The Street of Fruiting Bodies’ is not only disturbing, it is moving.

– Lastly, do you have $375 bucks to spare? Then you can be the owner of this pretty stunning looking Ultron Figure from Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles, expected to ship in early 2016.

Green Lantern has been considered the low-bar for the recent wave of superhero cinema since its release in 2011, and while it has plenty of company in Iron Man 2, Thor: The Dark World, Kick Ass 2 etc…this beleaguered adaptation of Hal Jordan’s origin has haunted its star, Ryan Reynolds, for over four years.

In 2016, Reynolds will return to the comic-based spotlight with this X-Men spinoff Deadpool, and while promoting his upcoming comedy-thriller The Voices with Yahoo! Movies, he compared the two experiences:

When we shot Green Lantern, nobody auditioning for the role of Green Lantern was given the opportunity to read the script, because the script didn’t exist. I’m not complaining about it — it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and if I were to go back and retrace my steps, I would probably do everything the exact same way. But script, that’s what’s different on this one…we’ve had a script for three years. The script got leaked, and people even loved that. That says a lot — if you can create a script around a comic-book character that is directly within the canon of the character and be embraced. That’s a huge step in the right direction. I’ve since learned that a lot of superhero movies don’t really have a fully functioning draft of the screenplay ready until they’re already well into shooting.

The failure of Green Lantern had a pretty clear ricochet effect on how Warner Bros handles their DC properties. It was an attempt at brighter super-heroics of the Marvel variety, but without any of the sharp humor, storytelling momentum and populist appeal that Marvel was able to solidify, post-Iron Man, just a few months later with Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

It’s fairly apparent that Green Lantern‘s critical and commercial flop is what pushed the studio into aping the grittier feel of The Dark Knight for Man of Steel. At the time, it seemed clear that the studio saw the situation as “you either do Iron Man or you do Batman”, based on box office draw. Given the massive success of The Avengers and every Marvel film that’s followed, I can’t help but wonder if WB’s position has evolved at all for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Tomorrow Entertainment Tonight will give television viewers a glimpse at the upcoming adaptation of the Green Lantern comics. In the video embedded above, you can see a few clips from the movie.

The film stars Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and will hit theaters in June 2011.  The project is helmed by Martin Campbell, the director of Casino Royale and The Mask of Zorro. What do you think?

Here’s more from io9: “The Green Lantern trailer won’t skimp on the huge interplanetary vistas, humor, or Ryan Reynolds in his underwear — here’s your first taste, via Entertainment Tonight, which is premiering the whole thing on Tuesday.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.