Ryan Reynolds Strikes Again

Some people have accused me of being too cynical. Others feel my pain, so to speak. Last week I announced Zac Efron is being touted as the next Spider-Man. Nobody seemed to mind my ranting and raving. I did, however, get some mixed results about Ryan Reynolds being cast as Green Lantern. Well, apparently that wasn’t enough to concern the comic faithful.

So, try this on for size.

Not only will Reynolds be donning the green and black for his role in Green Lantern, he will also be donning the red mask of Deadpool. Groans, anybody?

I still say Reynolds is a ploy to grab more female viewers in the theaters. However, one current co-writer of the Deadpool screenplay disputes this claim and said recently that Reynolds is very dedicated to the role. He even went so far as to say Reynolds will carry the Deadpool flame.

Are you squirming yet?

How about the claim by the same writer, Paul Wernick, that Reynolds may even be shaping the screenplay itself? Wernick says Reynolds has been giving them ideas and they have been very receptive to those ideas.

How you feeling now? Wait, there’s more.

To conclude this interview, Wernick went on to say Reynolds is a huge Deadpool fan and has actually been a filter for the writing team. When something doesn’t feel like Deadpool, then Reynolds let’s them know it doesn’t fit the character.

While that may seem admirable and have the Ryan Reynolds fans screaming with delight that he’s taking this role so seriously, please be reminded this is the Deadpool as according to Ryan Reynolds. Do you think Reynolds has enough insight into the character to understand it completely? I sure don’t.

What bothers me even more is Wernick admits the writing team is new to the idea of Deadpool. This means even the novice Deadpool fan could tell them how it is supposed to “feel.” This doesn’t mean Reynolds has a huge overall understanding of the character.

Also keep in mind studios have used a similar ploy in the past. When Iron Man was about to hit theaters there were all sorts of stories about how Robert Downey Jr. consumed himself with the character and bought every Iron Man comic book he could find. After the movie came out (with success) those stories began being disputed. Were they true? Or was it a ploy to convince fans Downey was right for the role?

I never had a problem with Downey as Iron Man. The man can freaking act and has proven it time and again. Reynolds, however, has yet to impress me on film. In fact, he has made me cringe with the way he delivers lines and always comes off like he’s lost.

Now, much like Efron, Reynolds has a HUGE opportunity to prove me wrong. I stated in my very first column that Green Lantern is my favorite comic book character. Since Reynolds was named in the starting role, I am cheering for him to do well. Deadpool fans will likely know what I feel like now. You don’t like the choice, but you want him to do the role well.

I would much rather see Reynolds steer his career away from some of my comic book favorites, but, that is just my opinion. What do you think? Who would you like to see as Deadpool?