One of the biggest stories to come out of San Diego Comic-Con this year was Deadpool, as the beloved Merc with a Mouth blew the Hall H crowd away with a memorable presentation that was entertaining and emotional for those involved. Even though it was never officially released, the sizzle reel Fox showed at their panel set the Internet ablaze and got many people talking about how much fun the film might be when it hits theaters next February.
Despite the pleas of fans who could not make it to San Diego this year, star Ryan Reynolds stated that there are no plans to put the Comic-Con footage online. Instead, he promised that an official trailer would hit the web soon, following the completion of some special effects shots. Now, we’re one step closer to that preview becoming a reality.
Alberta Film Ratings has officially classified “Trailer A” for Deadpool, meaning that it’s very likely it will see the light of day in the near future. If you scroll through the list of “recently classified film trailers,” you will see many titles, such as Spectre, whose latest trailers are available for public consumption. Considering Fox will distribute Fantastic Four on August 8, it seems reasonable the first Deadpool trailer will be attached to Josh Trank’s reboot – that is, if it isn’t put online in the days before.
One detail about the trailer that’s important to note is that Alberta has rated this particular trailer “PG,” which in essence confirms that it will be of the green band variety. That development may be disappointing to longtime Deadpool fans, since the film adaptation will stay loyal to many of the character’s R-rated tropes. One of the reasons the Comic-Con trailer was so well-received is because it thoroughly embraced the gory violence, vulgar language, and other adult characteristics Deadpool is known for, so the hope was we’d get a red band trailer. We may down the line, but for now we’ll have to make do with this one.
In terms of what to expect, content wise, it’s safe to assume that the official trailer will be a condensed version of the footage shown at Comic-Con (with less emphasis on the adult jokes and more on set-up). Deadpool is a renowned figure in comics lore, but casual audiences may be wondering what all the fuss is about. The official trailer should be able to pull certain elements from the Comic-Con trailer (establishing Wade Wilson has cancer, the meta humor) so the uninitiated can start to learn about the material and the die-hards become even more excited about seeing the project on-screen. In particular, we’d expect the now-famous chase action sequence (which was featured in the leaked test footage) to be a big part of the trailer.
Next year is going to be a big one for Fox’s Marvel properties, with X-Men: Apocalypse concluding the trilogy started in X-Men: First Class and Channing Tatum headlining the Gambit solo movie. But at this juncture, the one most people are concerned about is Deadpool, which coincidentally will arrive in theaters first. If the final product gets a reception that’s even half as enthusiastic as all the marketing materials, it could set the tone for a very fruitful 2016 for Fox. Fingers crossed the first official trailer is a good omen for its quality.
Fantastic Four opens in theaters on August 7, 2015, followed by Deadpool on February 12, 2016; X-Men: Apocalypse on May 27, 2016; Gambit on October 7, 2016; Wolverine on March 3, 2017; Fantastic Four 2 on June 9, 2017; and some as-yet unspecified X-Men film on July 13, 2018.
