It has been four years since Ryan Reynolds appeared on screen in tights to play a major comic book character; I am, of course, referring to when he played the Green Lantern of the featured film that tanked in the box office and was liked by virtually no one. Fans hoping to forget this time in Reynolds’ career are looking forward to the new Deadpool film which will be released nationally on Feb. 12.

Reynolds played the Deadpool character before in the 2009 X-men Origins: Wolverine film, which was met with mixed reviews. The new movie, however, is a stark contrast from how Deadpool was last portrayed on the big screen.

This time, director Tim Miller has given Ryan Reynolds free range to tap into the Deadpool character based on the comics. Coincidentally, Deadpool is Reynolds favorite comic book character.

The two share a pretty remarkable history together; Reynolds got his first acting gig in the year 1991 when he was on Fifteen, a forgettable Nickelodeon series that featured many other young Canadian actors. The first issue of Deadpool was released that same year and it immediately caught the attention of Reynolds. The actor has claimed to relate with the twisted humor of the sword-wielding anti-hero.

The new Marvel movie will tell the origin story of Deadpool and showcase the “not-suitable-for-kids” humor that was lacking in Wolverine.

I have faith that seven years will have been long enough for a fresh, fun look into the Deadpool character, which was unfortunately lacking the last time he was portrayed. Believing in second chances, I, like a lot of other devoted fans, have high hopes for the full feature film.