Why Ryan Reynolds Deserves To Play Deadpool Even After Green Lantern

Ryan Reynolds has not had very good luck with comic book movies. Blade: Trinity pretty much killed the Blade franchise. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is widely considered to be one of the worst films in the X-Men movie franchise, and Green Lantern was a disappointment for Warner Bros. at the box office. And the less said about R.I.P.D. the better.

Reynolds has been in four different comic book movies, which are for the most part considered failures, even though some of them actually weren’t complete bombs at the box office (again the less said about R.I.P.D. the better). After four strikeouts, does Ryan Reynolds really deserve another turn at bat in a comic book movie?

With Reynold recently confirming his return as Deadpool, it’s a question that comic book fans are already starting to debate. And just like everyone pointed to Daredevil when Ben Affleck was cast as Batman, some are pointing to Green Lantern as the primary reason that Reynolds doesn’t need to ever go near another superhero costume again.

Looking at Reynolds history in the comic book genre, it’s very easy to see why some would argue against him. Except Reynolds has one very big thing on his side. For one minute and forty-two seconds, the world got to see Ryan Reynolds be Deadpool in leaked test footage. And what a glorious one minute and forty-two seconds it was.

For one minute and forty-two seconds, Reynolds thrilled and entertained. For one minute and forty-two seconds, Reynolds defined the role of the Deadpool in a way that very few actors have defined a comic book character in a movie. In one minute and forty-two seconds, Reynolds joined the company of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Christopher Reeve as Superman, and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. There are others we could mention, but you get the picture.

Reynolds was born to play Deadpool. It will likely do for his career what Iron Man did for Robert Downey Jr. Deadpool is not a one and done movie. It’s a franchise.

Forget what you might have thought about Reynolds past comic book movie roles. Those films had problems that extended well beyond Reynolds’ performance in them. Put Reynolds in a role that fits him to a tee and throw in some good scriptwriters and a good director and Fox has a hit movie.

Oh, and that’s the second and third big thing that Reynolds has on his side. Deadpool has screenwriters and a director attached who get the character and have shown with the test footage that they know how to make a good Deadpool movie.

Yes, Ryan Reynolds deserves another shot at a comic book movie. But not just any comic book movie, Reynolds deserves the chance he is getting to play Deadpool again.