Deadpool set to begin filming in March

20th Century Fox has been sitting on this project since before X-Men Origins: Wolverine showed up and pretty much failed to meet every possible expectation anyone had. As a result, Deadpool was shelved and was pretty much thought to be dead until Comic-Con International last year. Some old test footage leaked and (yada yada yada) Fox greenlit the project. We now have even more confirmation that this is actually happening as the studio has set a filming date and location.

Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds, will start filming in Vancouver in March of this year. Vancouver is not only Reynolds' hometown but it is a big film hub for Fox. X-Men: Days of Future Past was even filmed there back in 2013. Tim Miller is attached to direct the film that is set for a February 12, 2016 release.
I still think that Guardians of the Galaxy had a lot to do with this as it proved that audiences were open to a superhero film not 100% grounded in reality. It also showed that we were willing to laugh a bit and be silly with our heroes. With that said, the reason that Fox never moved forward with Deadpool was because they weren't sure there was a wide market for it outside of the existing fanbase. I think the success Marvel has had with Guardians and their upcoming gamble on Ant-Man, Fox finally decided to take the plunge. There is no confirmation on whether they will stay completely true to the character and go for an R-rating, but even if it goes PG-13 I'm sure we will get an unrated version on DVD/Blu-Ray.