Deadpool: Petition to get Ryan Reynolds' superhero to host Saturday Night Live has almost 20,000 signatures

'How would this not be hilarious?'

In case you hadn’t heard, Deadpool is a pretty big deal right now. The Ryan Reynolds-starring film has broken numerous box-office records, far outdoing any expectations even the most liberal analysts had come up with; everyone seems to love the Merc with a Mouth.

So, what next for the comedy superhero? Host Saturday Night Live of course! At least, that is what 18,376 people (as of 18 February) want as they’ve all signed a Change.com petition asking NBC to let Deadpool host the show for the night.

The petition - made out to Ryan Reynolds, SNL head Lorne Michaels and NBC - reads: “How would this not be hilarious having Deadpool in sketches, breaking the 4th wall, and inserting some of his brand of humour (obviously toned down a bit for network television)?

“I have not watched a full episode of SNL in years because I just haven't been able to stomach an entire episode, but having Deadpool host, star, and be all over the episode would get the DVR set so I can watch it again and again!

“Not to mention, depending on the musical guest, how awesome would it be to have some Deadpool interpretive dancing while the musical guest was playing? There's unlimited possibilities!”

SNL have had very few hosts perform entire shows as fictional characters, with only Donald Trump being a recent example (note: Donald Trump is a real human being).

Having Deadpool host - not Reynolds - would be something of an unprecedented move, and one that could be hilarious. If you want to see it happen, sign the petition here.

In other Deadpool news, it turns out that Fox used a Marvel character they weren’t really supposed too. Meanwhile, Reynolds said there will be a Deadpool 1.5 before a direct sequel.