Tricoteux is actually the second actor to play the character onscreen, with Daniel Cudmore having taken on the role when the hero made appearances in X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand and 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Each of those appearances have been little more than cameos, however, and Tricoteux promises more from Deadpool.

"I think you're going to get to see more of who Colossus is," he said. "I think people will get a better sense of who he is. But I think there's still a lot more to be told about him. Colossus had been around in the comics since the '70s, so I mean, I think you could do your own movie on him."

And if that's not enough for the comic book faithful, Tricoteux — who, like Colossus' comic book incarnation, is Russian — teases that the character's ethnicity onscreen might finally match his origins. "I can't give too much away," he said, before adding, "We kept it very traditional to the comic book. Actually, we kept it exactly like the comic book, so you could be able to derive your own conclusion from that." Bozhe Moi!, as the comic book Colossus would put it.

Deadpool will be released Feb. 12, 2016.