DEADPOOL Star Ryan Reynolds Covers GQ; Talks Return To CBMs, GREEN LANTERN, FF, & More
In a recent interview with GQ, Ryan Reynolds took a few minutes to share his thoughts on a variety of topics ranging from his upcoming film Deadpool, his return to superhero movies, his misstep with Green Lantern, the future of the Fantastic Four cast, and more! Come check it out!
20th Century Fox's upcoming genre-redefining superhero film Deadpool is the wildest of wildcards, especially in a year filled with game-changing, world-breaking sequels like X-Men: Apocalypse, Captain America: Civil War, and Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice also releasing. The Tim Miller-directed film just sticks out like a sore thumb in a jam-packed year, but you know what, that's probably just the way the titular hero likes it.
After being revealed as GQ Magazine's latest cover star, Ryan Reynolds sat down for an extensive interview where he spoke on a wide range of topics, both personal and professional. As far as comic book movies go, he shared his excitement for Deadpool, spoke on his return to superhero movies in general, talked about his failure with Green Lantern, and voiced his concern for the future of the Fantastic Four cast after experiencing a similar misstep.
He starts out the discussion of his career by revealing that he was the one who came up with the "starring five-time Academy Award viewer Ryan Reynolds" joke that was a highlight in the brief teaser that was released prior to the release of the official trailer last month. Reynolds was then asked whether, after headlining a handful of big-budget misfires, but success with headlining well-received character pieces such as Mississippi Grind and The Voices, if he was ever happy or comfortable when headlining a movie: "Yeah. Deadpool, I loved doing that. That’s sort of a dream come true for me. But again, he’s funny and acerbic and a little bit of a head case. But he’s also not trying to be liked. He’s intentionally trying to annoy everyone."
Delving further, Reynolds spoke on his initial reluctancy to return to the world of superhero movies and what it was about Deadpool that convinced him to reconsider:
“A little bit. But Deadpool was different because there wasn’t a big budget attached to it. There was not a tremendous responsibility to meet some kind of bottom line. Those kinds of superhero movies when you’re out front, there’s a vast and quite frightening budget attached to them. This one had a super-reasonable budget, and it was subversive and a little bit different, and to me a little refreshing in the comic-book world. But you always have trepidation. When you’re out front, you have trepidation.”
The conversation then naturally shifted to his most recent high-profile venture into the world of superheroes: 2011's Green Lantern, the failure of which wasn't necessarily Reynolds' fault as his Hal Jordan was appreciated by most. Four years later, does Reynolds regret taking on the role, which at the time was highly sought after and also had big names such as Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), Jared Leto (Suicide Squad), and Justin Timberlake (In Time) screen-testing?: "I mean, I don’t give a rusty [frick], because—I know that this is gonna sound like some sort of guy who’s spent a little bit of time in a monastery or something, but it all led to here. If I had to do it all again, I’d do the exact same thing." Now, that's certainly a nice and colorful answer, but what if the film had been a huge success, where would Reynolds be today?: "...if it was as big a success, then it might have offered a whole different avenue of opportunities, or maybe I would just be kind of always that guy. I really don’t know." The interviewer then cracks a joke about Green Lantern 3: "Yeah, for sure. I think I would be probably in prep for Green Lantern 3 right now. That sounds about right.”
The talk then segued into the topic of perceived superhero fatigue, the discussion of which has never been more heated than it has been this year after seemingly muted responses to Marvel's two offerings - Avengers: Age Of Ultron & Ant-Man - and then the disastrous response to Josh Trank's Fantastic Four, which may have placed a major speed bump in the rising careers of its stars. What does Reynolds think about the whole situation? Are audiences really getting exhausted or is the money-hungry machine breaking down? And how does Deadpool factor into this ever-evolving world?:
RR: “It’s a genre. There are good horror movies and bad horror movies. There are good comedies and bad comedies. Think of it like that. Think of it less about just superheroes. I do believe that they explore similar archetypes a lot, so I think that notion can be somewhat fatiguing, maybe. I think one of the reasons that Deadpool has gained a lot of momentum isn’t just that it’s funny or isn’t just that it’s rated R. The meta aspect is very important. So I think Deadpool’s coming along at the right time, because it’s also speaking to that generation and that group of people that have seen them all, seen all these comic-book films and enjoyed them all to varying degrees of success. But I think it’s speaking to them as though the guy in that red suit is one of them, to some degree.”
GQ: "The guy who’s watching the more conventional superheroes and sort of wisecracking along."
RR: “Yeah. It’s like there’s an element of, like, watching a DVD commentary by someone who’s got some pop-culture savvy and is kind of funny and a little obnoxious and is saying the things that you maybe wouldn’t say. It’s fun. That’s also why the film is budgeted the way it’s budgeted, is released the way it’s released, is allowed to be rated R, kind of all these things. Because for the studio, it’s actually relatively low-risk.”
Reynolds, now an elder statesman by Hollywood standards at the age of 38, was then asked about how more and more young, talented, up-and-coming actors are being steered into big-budget franchises early on and while the whole franchise venture may have worked out well for actors such as Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: Apocalypse), who is now arguably a bona fide movie star, it can also have an adverse effect on the careers of many up-and-comers, potentially even the future careers of the immensely talented cast of the Fantastic Four. When asked this, Reynolds more or less commented on the unfair state of Hollywood as he voiced concern for the future of one particular star:
GQ: "And you look at a guy like Miles Teller, who had Whiplash and seems so talented, and now is in this Fantastic Four maelstrom. That’s how we rewarded that guy. We rewarded Michael B. Jordan for being amazing in all his films with—"
RR: “But I’m more frustrated about the Michael B. Jordan aspect than Miles Teller. You know, Miles Teller’s gonna recover. Miles Teller’s gonna go on to do amazing things, you know. It’s important that Michael B. Jordan continues to go on and do amazing things.”
GQ: And you feel like they’ll make it harder for a black actor than for a white one?
RR: “I know it’s not easy for a black actor. It’s not easy for a female actor. It’s not easy for a lot of people that are... That entire cast is amazingly talented. And I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. I mean, I know what that feels like. It doesn’t feel good. And it also is difficult, because you don’t feel like you can control that outcome. You know, as much as you want to. You can’t really.”
Thoughtful response from Reynolds and considering Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) already has the next Rocky sequel Creed set for a late November release and potentially garnering Oscar buzz late, we can all just hope the talented actor's 2015 is remembered for that film versus his already forgotten August release.
To cap off the insightful sit-down, which occurred when Deadpool was still in production, Reynolds further detailed his excitement for the sure-to-be wild film, which features Reynolds covering up his face and letting his mouth be the star for almost the entire ride. Did Reynolds feel liberated wearing the mask?: “Oh, really liberating, yeah. Because the character is called the Merc with a Mouth, and you have to explain that somehow. He can’t just be this guy who’s walking around and looks like a normal guy who’s just super-obnoxious. There has to be a reason for it. And the reason for it is because he looks like that.”
When describing the first day of shooting, Reynolds, after an extended six-year jouney to make the film, made sure he commorated the occassion with everyone involved: “Yeah! Oh, I made sure we marked it, too. Like, we just started rolling, and I was like, ‘No, no, hold on.’ We went in the other room and we huddled up: ‘We’re making this movie! We’ve been trying to get this movie made for six [frick]ing years, and here we are. We’re doing it right now. Just remember this second. Just take a moment to be thankful for that.’ And then we all went out and just started shooting and dicking around and had some fun.”
The whole interview is a compelling read, so I highly suggest you head over to GQ now and read the full piece by clicking HERE!
Check out Reynolds' GQ cover below and click HERE to see more shots from his shoot:
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 features:
Director: Tim Miller
Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool
Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle/Copycat
Ed Skrein as Francis/Ajax
Gina Carano as Angel Dust
T.J. Miller as Jack Hammer/Weasel
Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Andre Tricoteux as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus
Leslie Uggams as Blind Al
Jed Rees as The Recruiter
Deadpool slices his way into theaters (and your hearts) February 12, 2016