The R-rated superhero movie is kind of the Holy Grail nowadays, with the superhero genre at the height of its popularity.  As studios aim to find new ways of adapting the various comic book properties, fans are eager to see one of the big dogs—Marvel Studios, Warner Bros./DC, and 20th Century Fox—take a leap of faith and greenlight a more adult-geared adaptation.  One such property that was essentially made to break down this barrier is Deadpool, and Fox has been developing an adaptation of the comic for some time with Ryan Reynolds attached to star.  The key is finding the right budget to justify an R-rating, which excludes a hefty portion of the traditional target demo for comic book movies.  Tim Miller was most recently attached to direct, and he put together a reel of test footage to show executives what a Deadpool movie look like.  That footage has leaked online, and it’s kind of fantastic.  Reynolds feels perfect for the role, and the tone is spot on.Hit the jump to watch the Deadpool test footage before it’s taken down.A bit of background on the status of Deadpool: a script has been written for a while now by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and those who’ve read it (Reynolds included) have had nothing but great things to say.  Again, Fox is in control of the property and continues to develop, but while producers like Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg are open to the possibility of an R-rated comic book movie, they always reiterate that it’s a tough gamble.I’ve always been keen on seeing Deadpool come to fruition, but this leaked test footage has me significantly more jazzed about seeing this thing get made.  It’s funny, irreverent, and the direct address—which is another risky aspect of the project—works extremely well.  Here’s hoping it happens sooner rather than later, and with Reynolds in tow.ryan-reynolds-deadpool