The fans got it made
We’ve all been experimented on before, but Marvel Studios took involving the customer to the next level. In 2009, fans were introduced to the character Deadpool in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Ryan Reynolds. The character suffered huge backlash and was criticised due to the character not sticking true to its origins. In fact, the first adaptation of Deadpool was so poorly received, it was said that any future attempts at producing a movie would be impossible to salvage.
In 2010, Ryan was determined to bring the Deadpool character back to life, co-writing a new script that adapted the character more faithfully. With a hefty estimate of $58 million to produce, the risk for the studio was far too great. The damage had been done.
Ryan spent the next four years pushing for the movie to be produced. It wasn’t until 2014 that test footage of a supposed new Deadpool film was ‘leaked’ to the internet masses. With an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to the footage from fans and the general public, the film was greenlit by Fox Studios 24 hours later.
In a 2016 interview, the interviewer asked Ryan who leaked the footage and with a grin and guilty smile, he simply replied “Who knows?”. The movie was a huge success generating $782.6 million at the box office becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the year and breaking numerous records. On the scale of things, a little price to pay to be sure.
“The fans got it made. It’s a great story. It’s totally fan-driven in every way.”
Experimentation opens up new learning opportunities and allows you to measure market demand while lowering the barrier to entry in getting your product in the hands of real fans *cough* customers. The key is understanding which method will accurately measure the assumption you are trying to test.
Watch the Ryan Reynolds interview here:
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