Things seem to be heating up with Deadpool, the upcoming film featuring Ryan Reynolds as Marvel’s mouthy mercenary. Just a few days after Reynolds posted a photo teasing the mask he’ll wear as Deadpool, the project has reportedly added a (literal) heavy-hitter with the casting of former MMA star Gina Carano.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former fighter turned actress is in talks to join the Deadpool cast as a mutant called “Angel Dust.”
A lesser-known character with the power to raise her adrenaline levels in order to gain super-strength, Angel Dust has had a minimal presence in the Marvel Comics universe. A role in the 2002 Morlocks miniseries (which was penned by current DC Comics’ Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns) is her only significant appearance thus far.
Once ranked as the third-best female fighter in the world, Carano made her big-screen debut in director Steven Soderbergh’s well-received 2011 action film Haywire, and returned to the screen for 2013’s Fast & Furious 6.
For her part, Carano will join Reynolds and previously announced supporting cast members T.J. Miller and Ed Skrein, who were cast in unspecified roles. It’s worth noting that Carano isn’t expected to be the female lead in the film — a role that remains unidentified at this point and yet to be cast.
The report also notes that the steel-skinned mutant Colossus — who appeared in several of the original X-Men movies and the recent X-Men: Days Of Future Past — will have a part in the film. It’s unknown whether Daniel Cudmore, who has played Colossus in all of the X-Men films so far, will return as the character.
Cameras are expected to begin rolling on the film next month (March 2015) in Vancouver.
Deadpool is scheduled to hit theaters February 12, 2016.
