IGN reports that Fox is closing a deal with actor Ryan Reynolds, who is set to star as the wisecracking, fourth wall-breaking amoral mercenary and titular character in the upcoming Marvel film "Deadpool."

Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Comics announced the film's release date earlier this year. Directed by Tim Miller, production for "Deadpool" begins in March, and the film is scheduled for a worldwide release on Feb. 12, 2016. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick ("Zombieland") have penned the script with Lauren Shuler Donner producing.

This will be the second time Reynolds will play the role, reprising the part after appearing in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the 2009 superhero film directed by Academy Award-winner Gavin Hood.

In that film, Reynolds played Wade "Deadpool" Wilson, a Team X katana-wielding contract killer gifted with the ability to heal quickly. He undergoes military experiments under the direction of Major William Stryker. Through Stryker, Wilson is given the ability to mimic other mutants but, in turn, is left severely scarred.

However, that portrayal differs drastically from its source. It is unclear whether that idea will be scrapped altogether or not, though a leak has hinted at the possibility of returning to the character's comic book origins.

The release date for the Deadpool movie came shortly after a bootlegged copy of raw footage, which was shot a few years ago, began to circulate online from the leaked project. Also featuring actor Ryan Reynolds in the lead role, the video shows Deadpool pursuing multiple assailants fleeing in an armored car.

In December 2013, comic-book writer/artist Rob Liefeld confirmed with IGN that Deadpool would also appear alongside X-Men favorite Cable in "X-Force," a spin-off of the X-Men films with a script penned by "Kick-Ass 2" director Jeff Wadlow.

Liefeld tweeted: "Perfectly plausible to see the X-Force and Deadool stand alone film released within 6 months to a year of one another. Great times ahead."

This is not the first time Reynolds, who first established his himself as a funnyman in romantic comedies, has donned a pair of tights to play Marvel's "Merc with a Mouth." The actor who cut his teeth in critically acclaimed dramatic performances in "Safe House" opposite Denzel Washington and Rodrigo Cortés' "Buried," Reynolds made scene-stealing appearances in "Blade: Trinity," "R.I.P.D." and "Paper Man," a superhero satire. In 2011, Reynolds played Hal Jordan in the critically panned "Green Lantern," where he met his second wife, actress Blake Lively.

It seems as though "Deadpool" has been an opportunity Ryan Reynolds has been vying for. Describing the character with affection in a 2010 interview with Hero Complex, Reynolds said, "With Deadpool, it's a lot like going to prison for the first day. You got to walk up and hit the biggest guy you see to establish a bit of cred. With Deadpool, early on you have to establish that moral flexibility. There's a gamble to it -- you're going to lose a few people right at the beginning but you take the gamble and know that eventually you're going to win them back..."

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