(CBR) According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox's “Deadpool” film finally has an official release date: Feb. 12, 2016. Tim Miller is set to direct, and while reportedly no deal is yet in place for Ryan Reynolds to star, THR says it's likely. Additionally, Fox has moved Josh Trank's “Fantastic Four” reboot from June 19, 2015 to Aug. 7 of the same year.
Although “Deadpool” has been long in development at Fox, it wasn't until animated test footage by Blur Studios leaked online after Comic-Con International 2014 that buzz really began amongst fans. The footage, known to exist via comments from “Deadpool” co-creator Rob Liefeld, featured Ryan Reynolds voicing the popular Marvel character in a far different incarnation than in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The test footage, which contains adult language, was far more true to the comics version of the character, right down to him breaking the fourth wall.
With the move of “Fantastic Four” to later in 2015, Fox's “Assassin's Creed” is now off the 2015 summer calendar completely. As pointed out by THR, moving “Fantastic Four” to August can be interpreted as Fox taking a cue from the success of Marvel Studios' “Guardians of Galaxy,” which was released this past August and subsequently became the highest grossing film in 2014 thus far.