As 20th Century Fox and director Tim Miller gear up to go into production on Deadpool, leading man Ryan Reynolds has been speaking to Shortlist about his excitement over finally getting to realise the Merc With the Mouth’s solo movie.

“I’m incredibly happy about it, we’ve got a director that understands that world, and writers with a lavish devotion to the canon of that character. That’s the most important aspect: it’s made in a way the most critical of fanboys could embrace. Well, that’s the hope. That’s the most important aspect: it’s made in a way the most critical of fanboys could embrace. Well, that’s the hope. We don’t have the kind of money that most superhero movies do, but that’s great, actually. Necessity is the mother of invention, and that’s why we get to make the movie we want to make. You gotta have faith in the people you’re working with, and have faith in the prep, and that’s all I’m doing. On this one, the prep’s been 11 years. You’d like to think you’re putting your best foot forward, but we’ll see.”

Deadpool is set for release on February 12th 2016 and sees Reynolds joined in the cast by Morena Baccarin (Gotham), Gina Carano (Fast & Furious 6) and T.J. Miller (Transformers: Age of Extinction).