Lauren Shulder Donner Talks Deadpool, Will Be Faithful R-Rated Comedy & Renyolds Still In

X-Men producer Lauren Shulder Donner also talked to Empire about their spin-off Deadpool. She confirms that they are currently looking for a director. Also the film is an R-rated comedy that will be a complete reboot and could take shots at the fan-hated version seen in Wolverine. This confirms previous statements made by Daredevil director David Slade that Fox was looking for comedy directors to make Deadpool. Lauren gives the impression that the studio is willing to wait for Ryan Reynolds and he's very involved with the film's script.

"We're looking for a director, yes. He’s very involved, Ryan. He’s working with the writers on the screenplay and it is as much as it is ours....mindful of Reynolds' ever-growing logjam of work, added that the film would shoot in the next year or so."

"We’re either going to pretend that didn’t happen or mock it, which he could. It’s insane, it’s definitely comedy, but it’s an R script, it’s really irreverent and violent. Right away, we’re out of the X-Men world...I'm tellin' ya, it's true to the comic. You’ll see all of them. You’ll see Wade Wilson, the good-looking Ryan Reynolds! You’ll see Deadpool in his costume and you’ll see the cancer-scarred face."

James Gunn Open To Making A Marvel Film, Could It Be Deadpool?

LatinoReview was able to speak with James Gunn while he was promoting Super. They posed the question if Gunn would ever consider making a film based on a Marvel character.

"Yeah, I mean there's a lot of things that I would like to do and I've even talked to people about it. I've had discussions with Marvel, even from the beginning of the career. I remember being offered to write 'Fantastic Four' ten years ago or some that I didn't do. If something inspired me I would.


"A lot of things I'm attracted to may not be may not be the most popular superheroes in the world and so it's just a matter of finding the right project. But I would do it if it was something that inspired me. You never know, some morning I could wake up with an idea in my head for anything and it could be a western, a comedy, a superhero movie, a melodrama and that's what will take me over for that day.


"I don't think my next movie is going to be an ultra-low budget movie like 'Super,' but I don't think -- I love doing it, I'm happy I did it, but if I do it again for another year I think it might kill me. So I think I'm going to do something with a little bit of a bigger budget, more of an entertaining pop-show and that's what I plan on doing next."

The interesting part of this whole thing is that Fox had interest in him writing Fantastic Four. I would be inclined to believe he could be hinting at the Fantastic Four reboot. That project has yet to announce either a writer or direct and Gunn is a double package. I'd also be in the mind set if Fox is indeed looking for a comedy director to make Deadpool Gunn would be an excellent choice. There has also been talk of the studio making a film based on Taskmaster with Joe Carnahan (A-Team, Smokin' Aces) attached to direct. He's a super villain who has amazing photographic muscle memory and can mimic any fighting techniques just by witnessing them.

20th Century Fox has recently embraced more artistic directors for their superhero films. Hiring James Gunn for any of them would be a step in the right direction wether it's a reboot, new hero or a spin-off. There have been rumblings of Fox trying to have all their new Marvel films set in the same universe similar to what Marvel Studios has done with their superhero films.

5 Comedy Directors That Should Be Considered For Deadpool

Daredevil director David Slade recently tweeted that Fox is currently looking for "comedy directors" to make the Deadpool film. It's not surprising as the "merc with a mouth" is full of nothing but one liners and quick wit. While they had previously pursued Robert Rodriquez it's likely they're now looking for someone able to balance the high level of comedy with the extreme action of a comic book film. If Ryan Reynolds is committed to doing the film and making sure it's R-rated I have a few names in mind for Fox to consider.



DAVID GORDON GREEN: One of the only people connected with the Apatow crew that I believe could do this right. David's madness of fusing adrenaline fueled action with slapstick comedy was best shown in Pineapple Express. Your Highness looks like it could be just as crazy this time giving the director the chance to work with a bigger budget and special effects. If Fox wants a comic book film that we've never seen before he certainly could deliver one.



JAMES GUNN: On the same level of "what the fuck moments" that Gordon Green has James Gunn could be just as mad when it comes to bringing Deadpool to the screen. His films Slither and the upcoming Super are set in a surreal world that screams Deadpool. Another director who give us an exciting, violent and bizarre ride.



JODY HILL: Jody is best known for his amazing HBO series East Bound & Down along with his dark comedies Fist Foot Way and Observe & Report. His sense of smart quips and dark humor could be great for Deadpool. My only issue with Hill is that he hasn't had much experience with large scale action setups or special effects and could feel overwhelmed by the action scenes.



JOE CORNISH: Currently Joe Cornish is gaining more commercial writing gigs teaming up with Edgar Wright for the Spielberg/Peter Jackson Tintin trilogy along with Marvel's long in development Ant-Man. Edgar has enough on his plate with Baby Driver, Ant-Man and World's End so he's out of the running in my mind. Cornish on the other hand is getting a lot of buzz for his original film Attack The Block which won over a lot of critics over at SXSW this year. I have yet to see the film but if he's able to deliver a film on the cheap for Fox they would seriously consider him.



RUBEN FLEISCHER: The man behind the resurrection of America's love affair with zombies and more than likely helped AMC commit to making Walking Dead. He's currently working on post-production on 30 Minutes Or Less and has mentioned wanting to start filming Zombieland 2 in the near future. The obvious Zombieland connection to Deadpool screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett makes him a excellent choice as Ruben understands how to shoot their scripts properly while also keeping to a minimal budget.



WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD DIRECT DEADPOOL??

James Gunn's Super Gets April's Fools Release Date!

James Gunn's ultra-violent superhero comedy Super has been set to be released on April 1st. The film is being compared to Kick-Ass but isn't based on existing source material which is nice to see. There are some short clips floating online which sold me on the film. Hopefully this means the trailer won't be too far away.

Reynolds Talks Deadpool & James Gunn Should Direct

HeroComplex was able to sit down with Ryan Reynolds about his other comic book franchise in-the-making Deadpool. Previously it had been rumored Reynolds could leave the project to focus on other films and possibly be forced out by two Green Lantern sequels. The way Ryan talks about the character it's clear he's very committed to Deadpool and making sure it's faithful.

“It goes in such a different direction than a superhero movie usually goes. It’s a nasty piece of work. It’s just based in so much emotional filth, completely. It’s like ‘Barfly‘ if it were a superhero movie. It sort of treads into the world of an emotionally damaged person. I always say that Deadpool is a guy in a highly militarized shame spiral…. It’s so different than the superhero movies to date, it departs so far from that.”

“With Deadpool, it’s a lot like going to prison for the first day,” Reynolds said. “You got to walk up and hit the biggest guy you see to establish a bit of cred. With Deadpool, early on you have to establish that moral flexibility. There’s a gamble to it — you’re going to lose a few people right at the beginning but you take the gamble and know that eventually you’re going to win them back. You won’t lose the hard-core fans of the character, they already know who he is. We have to play to a broader audience than that. As an actor you have to be willing to do something like … back in Vancouver we used to call it a [nasty] burger. ’You gotta eat the [nasty] burger to get to the cookies.’ And yes, I want to write a cookbook about that…”

“The comics are very inconsistent in the writing,” Reynolds said. “All the different writers, different voices, but at the core of the character his heart is really interesting. He’s the funniest guy you’ll ever meet, too, and for me that’s exciting but it’s not as hard as capturing that moral flexibility, which is so important. He hasn’t really experienced the full spectrum of human emotion the way most people do.”


While there has been an offer sent out to Robert Rodriguez to direct. His busy schedule of Spy Kids 4 and possibly Sin City 2 afterwords it seems unlikely he'll be able to commit. So who should 20th Century Fox at look next? My vote has to go to James Gunn who is gathering some positive buzz for his superhero comedy Super. The film is being talked up as the next Kick-Ass which speaks highly for the film. Gunn previously landed on people's radar for his horror comedy Slither. I believe Gunn's sense of humor could fit perfectly into the world of the Merc With A Mouth.