He's unlike any superhero you've ever seen before.

He swears, has a wicked sense of humour, and is a total womaniser.

Audiences got their first look at Ryan Reynolds' latest character, Marvel antihero Deadpool, in an action-packed trailer for the film, which is rated R in the US, released on Wednesday.

The character, real name Wade Wilson, is one of Marvel's lesser-known characters, and is a spinoff hero from the X-Men series, last seen in 2009 flop X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Deadpool is an unlikely hero - he's mentally disturbed, disfigured and was given superhero powers in a controversial government program before becoming a professional hitman.

The Deadpool film, out February next year, has been a long time in the making and features many things you won't see in a Batman film: sex scenes, blood, gore, and a lot of swearing.

That's what makes the character so complelling - he's a superhero for the modern age.

Ryan Reynolds' played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine but at some stage the creators of the film decided he would have he mouth sewn shut.

After studying the character and reading the original X-Men comics, Reynolds, 38, spent years lobbying Hollywood executives to make a Deadpool movie.

His last superhero role as Green Lantern in 2011 was a failure at the box office.

Warning: graphic language