Ryan Reynolds Eyeing Sci-Fi ‘Life’ From ‘Deadpool’ Writers

It took a few tries, but Ryan Reynolds finally delivered a good superhero blockbuster with Deadpool, and to celebrate, the actor is eyeing a reunion with the writers behind his box office record-breaking solo outing. Reynolds is in talks to star in the upcoming sci-fi film Life, which boasts the bonus feature of working opposite Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation breakout Rebecca Ferguson.

According to Deadline, Reynolds is circling a lead role opposite Ferguson in Life, which would also reunite the actor with his Safe House director Daniel Espinosa. The sci-fi film is based on a screenplay by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, two key figures in the R-rated superhero film’s immense success (the Deadpool opening credits lists them as “The real heroes here”).

Life follows the crew of an international space station as they discover signs of life in a sample taken from Mars. Unfortunately, this new life is far more advanced than anyone predicted, and that’s when things get messy. The film is described as a “big-scale” project, but given the recent success of Deadpool, the scale shouldn’t be a problem for all involved.

Reynolds has had a fairly shaky career, from his early comedic popularity to the long period in which no one seemed to have any idea what to do with him — he was great in smaller indie projects like Buried, The Nines, The Voices and the recent Mississippi Grind, but his attempts at blockbuster success (from superhero films to raunchy comedies to rom-coms) have been underwhelming at best.

Deadpool is the perfect vehicle for Reynolds, and perhaps re-teaming with the guys who helped bring that guy to the big screen will yield yet another successful outing. Teaming up with Rebecca Ferguson doesn’t hurt, either.