Many people are talking about the "Merc with a Mouth" in downtown Vancouver, as shooting gets underway for local boy Ryan Reynolds' blockbuster superhero sequel, "Deadpool 2."
Several businesses on Cambie Street were buzzing about Reynolds as film crews prepared an alleyway for a shoot on Wednesday. One restaurant employee said she will have to try hard not to "fangirl" with Reynolds so close by.
"If I see him walk by, I might just say hi鈥�" another woman told CTV Vancouver.
A patron at a nearby bar said he hopes Reynolds will stop in to say hello. "Tell him to come over and have a beer," he said.
Reynolds teased the beginning of production on June 17, when he shared a photo of himself in the Deadpool costume, laying down casually in front of Victoria's Hatley Castle. "Feels good to be back," he wrote in the caption.
CTV Vancouver movie critic Jim Gordon says it's good to see Reynolds bringing the Deadpool sequel back to shoot in Vancouver, where the original film was shot in 2015.
"You can really see Vancouver in (that) film," he said. "We've got great production values, it's cheaper to shoot here, and yeah, you're close to L.A. Why not shoot here?"
The city's Georgia Viaduct features prominently in the first "Deadpool," as the site of the film's first major action sequence.
After "Deadpool 2" started shooting on top of one of a skyscraper in downtown Vancouver Tuesday night, Reynolds shared an image from the set.
