Deadpool & Ryan Reynolds Get A Standing Ovation At Comic-Con

After the Fantastic Four exited the stage at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, moderator Chris Hardwick told the audience in Hall H there was a special announcement before they continued with the 20th Century Fox presentation. The room went dark. "In a world," a voice over the speakers began. Then, the room erupted in screams, because they knew they were about to see Ryan Reynolds appear in the Deadpool movie that was never meant to be... Let's get some backstory here. Deadpool is one of those characters studios just couldn't seem to translate on screen. It looked like the film would never get the final greenlight to go into production. But, when preliminary footage leaked nearly a year ago, it went viral across a very vocal and excited fandom. Rob Liefeld, the creator of the Deadpool characters, told Cinema Blend he "absolutely believe[s] that the leaked footage served as one of those signature moments when fandom united across all social media platforms and made their voices heard." No wonder everyone in San Diego went crazy. When Reynolds came on stage, the excitement in Hall H was at the highest I've seen it all week — yes, even greater than after the Batman v Superman trailer. "Looks like we're ready to make the chimi fucking changas over here," Reynolds told the crowd. "It's only been 11 years in the making." There's another part to get excited about. Reynolds is making his return to comedic acting. Sure, Deadpool is intended to be a hero. But, this film sure looks like it's going to be funny. Silicon Valley's T.J. Miller is in it, for crying out loud. In the trailer — which was briefly leaked then swiftly removed from the Internet — Miller's character tells Deadpool, who has visibly damaged skin after his cancer treatments, "You look like Freddy Krueger face-fucked a topographical map of Utah." It's hard to describe what the trailer was like. But, here's an in-a-nutshell moment for you: Sitting on an overpass, Deadpool is drawing a picture of himself fighting baddies while singing Salt 'n Pepa's "Shoop." It's a silly image that could be cringeworthy in lesser hands, but Reynolds owns it brilliantly. A few seconds later, Deadpool drops down from the overpass into the sunroof of an SUV. After a brief fight scene in which he defeats his adversaries handily, Deadpool inhales the smoke emanating from his discharged guns. He moans, "I'm touching myself tonight." It's not lost on the cast that they're lucky to be at Comic-Con."It's an absolute miracle that a studio let us make Deadpool," Reynolds said. "Let alone a rated-R Deadpool." After the trailer, nearly the entire room gave the panel a standing ovation. "One more time! One more time!" the crowd chanted. And, just like that, the powers that be bowed down to their demands and played it again. Deadpool is scheduled to be released in February 2016.