Ryan Reynolds Thanks Deadpool Fans For Supporting The Film

Ryan Reynolds has taken to Facebook to publically thanks fans for their support of Deadpool over the film’s record-breaking opening weekend.

“That ain’t pavement he’s walking on. It’s sunshine,” Reynolds wrote in the post that was accompanied by a shot from the film of Deadpool on an overpass. “Thank you to the #Deadpool fans who took us from leaked test footage all the way to the main event. It’s because of you, we got to make the real Deadpool. The right way.”

Deadpool has been an 11 year process for Reynolds, who originally played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A Deadpool solo film was supposed to follow soon after, but Fox froze it shortly after the script was written. They eventually allocated funds for a test footage reel to be made, but that test footage then sat on the shelf for four years before being leaked onto the internet. Fan reaction was so strong that Fox was practically forced to give the movie an official greenlight.

The film has far exceeded expectations at the box office in its opening weekend alone, and is expected to bring in $150 million by the end of its first four days.

Deadpool is playing in theaters now.