10 Ridiculous Ways Actors Were TRICKED Into Movie Roles
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Ryan Reynolds Was Promised A Solo Deadpool Movie
The Merc Without A Mouth.
Not quite as catchy is it?
Apparently the folks over at Fox would disagree, cruelly handing us a mouthless, laser beam shooting Deadpool for Wolverine to decapitate.
Ryan Reynolds was signed on for a Deadpool film all the way back in 2008. According to the man himself, the studio bluntly told him "Play Deadpool in this movie or we'll get someone else to."
Worried about losing his dream project, Reynolds begrudgingly agreed to appear in the film, still under the illusion a proper Deadpool film would follow soon after. Instead, Fox dropped the project entirely, citing a perceived lack of general interest in a Wade Wilson adventure. One can't help but feel interest would've been higher had they not butchered the character worse than mince meat in his first appearance.
With the project seemingly gone forever, Reynolds moved to DC where he gave us a very Ryan Reynolds-like Hal Jordan taking on a floating poo cloud in Green Lantern. A movie almost as bad as the theatrical cut of Justice League, Green Lantern flopped hard.
Fortunately for everyone, old Deadpool test footage leaked to a positive response, renewing interest in the project. Eight years after he first signed on, Reynolds finally got his Deadpool film (still waiting on word of a Deadpool 3 here Disney).
While this one has a happy ending, it doesn't change the fact that Reynolds was pressured into taking a bad role under false pretences. At least Fox corrected their mistake eventually.