Ryan Reynolds Says 'Deadpool' Will Change Superhero Movies and Here's Why

This year, Ryan Reynolds is bringing one of the oddest superheroes in comic book history to the big screen: Deadpool, also known as the Merc with a Mouth. A Marvel hero that's actually aware of being a comic book character, Reynolds says Wade Wilson will be a "game-changer" in the new superhero movies, and his answer makes a lot of sense.

Reynolds, who is currently promoting the superhero film that will be released on Valentine's Day weekend, recently sat down with Reuters to talk about the movie and how it will fit into the growing world of comic book superheroes on the big screen -- and for him, the difference is the lightness of the character, as the change of pace will be a "game changer" for the genre.

"[Deadpool] takes nothing seriously and I think that's fun. It's a nice refreshing change of pace," Reynolds explained. "You still have all the intense action, you have a movie that deals with themes that are a little bit more adult than necessarily some of the Marvel movies that have come along."

Of course, this isn't Reynolds' first rodeo in the superhero adaptation world: back in 2011, he played the title character in the critical and box office flop, Green Lantern. He also played Deadpool before in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but this is the first time ever the character gets its own film.

IGN recently spoke to Reynolds about his work in superhero movies, asking whether he'll be involved in the already-confirmed 2020 Green Lantern movie, set in the new DC Cinematic Universe. For Reynolds, it's not even a choice at this point: he's simply not interested in playing any other comic book character; in fact, he's so psyched about his new role he insists it'd "be fun" to play Deadpool for the rest of his life.

Deadpool, which is part of the same universe as X-Men, will come out on Feb. 12, co-starring Morena Baccarin and Gina Carano.