Ryan Reynolds Shares His Biggest Fear About Making Deadpool

As audiences eagerly await his return to the role, Ryan Reynolds reveals his biggest fear when making Deadpool. The superhero movie was released back in 2016 from 20th Century Fox to widespread acclaim for its action, comedy, and Reynolds' performance of the character. While fans had been clamoring for the anti-hero to receive a solo live action-adaptation, it was not the first time Wade Wilson appeared on film, having previously appeared in 2008's X-Men Origins: Wolverine with Reynolds playing the character then as well. However, unlike the later solo movie, the first depiction of the character was universally condemned for the decision to take away many key traits of the Merc with a Mouth, including his comedic fourth-wall-breaking, key personality traits, and his biggest draw, his mouth by making him mute.

Overcoming these poor reactions, fans continued to demand a better interpretation of the character, which they received with Deadpool. The R-rated blockbuster gave viewers everything they hoped for, from the crass humor to mindless violence and meta-commentary that makes Deadpool so unique, with its box office success resulted in the sequel, Deadpool 2, which similarly saw a positive reception for its dark humor and gory action sequences. Deadpool 3 was set to be developed by 21st Century Fox until they were acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2019 resulting in the pausing of all development as Marvel Studios acquired the rights to the franchise, with plans to have him join the MCU revealed later with development on Deadpool 3, which will retain its R-rating. While excitement for Deadpool 3 and Reynolds' return to the character increases, Reynolds does not forget the arduous path that it took to get to this point.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter for his docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, Ryan Reynolds revealed his biggest fear when making Deadpool was disappointing folks who loved the titular character. The actor/producer confessed that before the X-Men spinoff, his success in the comic book arena was unrealized and made him worry how people would receive his interpretation of Wilson. See what Reynolds said below:

I’d been in the comic book arena before to no real success and I thought, “Wow, if this doesn’t work, I’m going to let people down.” That was my biggest fear was just letting folks down who loved this character.

Deadpool 2 Teaser with Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson

In hindsight, this unease from Reynolds may seem unfounded due to the immense success of the Deadpool franchise, and one bad appearance prior. However, the actor had also played another superhero prior that did not land as well with 2011's Green Lantern movie, playing the titular protagonist based on the DC Comics. The movie was panned by critics, who cited how unorganized the plot felt and the over-utilization of special effects, among other criticisms. At the time, this was Reynolds' second attempt to play a superhero, and was again maligned by audiences following the X-Men Origins: Wolverine debacle.

Ryan Reynolds has become one of the biggest and most beloved stars in Hollywood, in large part due to his overwhelming comedic gravitas and self-awareness. Scenes like Deadpool 2's post-credit scene, in which Wilson goes back in time to the events of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and kills himself, demonstrate Reynolds' ability to make himself a punchline while learning from past mistakes. Deadpool is the culmination of Reynolds overcoming previous failures and growing from those experiences to create a live-action character that fans love and enjoy.

Source: THR/Twitter