There’s been talk about a Deadpool movie for a long, long time now, and over the years one of the main sticking points about it being unrealistic to produce is that it’d have to be one dark superhero movie. So dark it may even warrant an R-rating. Throughout the film's long development, star Ryan Reynolds has expressed his desire for it to be rated R. Now that production is finally underway, many are still wondering exactly how far Reynolds and director Tim Miller are pushing the envelope, and whether Fox will be the first to release a major R-rated superhero movie in the post-Avengers era.

Reynolds recently took a Twitter break while filming and directly addressed the issue of the Deadpool movie rating, saying they’re still working it out:

https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/582548220460421120

This isn’t the first film to be in production while still debating over its rating. Director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman essentially shot both an R-rated and a PG-13-rated The Wolverine, doing alternate takes that took things a little further. 20th Century Fox ultimately decided to release the PG-13 cut in theaters and put the "unrated" cut on Blu-ray, but when it comes to something like Deadpool where your character’s an antihero, smart-ass assassin, an R-rating feels almost necessary.

Reynolds previously told us that Deadpool’s smaller budget in relation to other superhero movies allowed them to get away with things that those other films can’t, and so I’m hoping that will give Fox the confidence to put forward an R-rated version of the film. It’s not like they’re releasing the pic in the midst of the four-quadrant summer blockbuster onslaught—if ever there was a time to release an offbeat R-rated superhero movie, February is it.

deadpool-costume-ryan-reynolds
Image via 20th Century Fox

As Reynolds says, the debate is currently raging on and I imagine it will be all the way through post-production, so now all we can do is cross our fingers. Of course it’s possible Fox could release PG-13 Deadpool in theaters and R-rated Deadpool on Blu-ray, but if this is the character’s long-awaited shot at a big screen presence, why not go all the way?

In other Deadpool news, THR reports that newcomer Brianna Hildebrand will inhabit the role of Negasonic Teenage Warhead, a telepath with precognitive abilities, in the film. The character was created by Grant Morrison. 

Check out another image from the Deadpool set below, showing off Reynolds’ closely cropped hair and bulging bicep. Deadpool opens in theaters on February 12, 2016.

https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/582547804481978368