However, in the wake of Disney and Marvel Studios' mega-success with The Avengers, Fox now seems to be giving some serious attention to its stable of superheroes - as highlighted by the recent appointment of Mark Millar as creative consultant on the studio's 'Marvel Universe' - and its upcoming slate looks very promising indeed.
Along with a proposed Fantastic Four reboot from Chronicle director Josh Trank, the studio has Hugh Jackman's latest outing The Wolverine set to arrive next year, followed by the First Class sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014. Still, while the future of the X-Men franchise certainly looks rosy at the moment, one mutant spin-off that seems to have fallen off the radar is the long-rumoured Deadpool solo movie.
Despite a well-received screenplay from Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (G.I. Joe: Retaliation), the appointment of a director in Blur Studio's Tim Miller (VFX supervisor on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Fox appears reluctant to green light Ryan Reynolds' return as the Merc with a Mouth, and a new update from Miller doesn't offer much hope of the project materializing any time soon:
"We've turned in an amazing script and done some early tests and visual development that--I'm confident--would get the fans stoked," said Miller, responding to a comment on Kickstarter (via ComicBookMovie). "And Ryan [Reynolds] still loves the project. So it's really up to Fox as to whether or not the film happens--all I can do is hope (and beg periodically) that it be allowed to move ahead."
Update: Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has now provided his own updates on the proposed movie via Twitter, stating that: "I think the success of the Deadpool game will help immensely and get the Deadpool film a green light... The single biggest blockade (blockhead?) is gone. Mr Tom Rothman has been removed from Fox. Not a friend of Deadpool's... I assure you, as Deadpool's daddy that Me, Tim Miller and [Mark Millar] have huddled on all things Deadpool. We will storm the castle!"
So, I guess we're not really any further forward then really. Still, movie or not, there's always the aforementioned Deadpool video game to look forward to next year. Here's the trailer...
