Ryan Reynolds movie to shut down Georgia Viaduct in April

The City of Vancouver has sent out a news release welcoming locally grown actor Ryan Reynolds to his hometown.

From April 5 to April 18, Deadpool, a movie that stars Scarlett Johansson's ex-husband, will be filming on the Georgia Viaduct.

That means the viaduct will be closed 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays from April 6 to April 16.

"When filming completes at 3pm, one lane will open to allow traffic to pass a 100-metre screened area. All lanes will open once past that area. On Sunday, April 5, filming will take place 8am-8pm. On Saturday, April 11, filming will take place from 5am-5pm. The production has held options to use the Viaduct on April 12, 17 and 18 for contingency purposes," the release states.

Before you freak out, the release also says: "The Georgia Viaduct leads out of the downtown core, and the closures have been scheduled to minimize impacts to rush hour traffic. The Dunsmuir Viaduct will not be impacted by any closures."

In the release, John Kelly, the movie's executive producer, states: “After scouting locations in North America and Europe, we selected Vancouver for both budgetary reasons and because of the City’s increasingly positive reputation regarding its support for filming. The use of the viaduct is necessary to accommodate a critical scene that requires the appearance of highway overpasses entering a major urban centre. We are very pleased to have this opportunity to work with the City of Vancouver.”

Deadpool is a 20th Century Fox film. Reynolds played the Marvel Comics character Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and will do so again in this spin-off.

The city says the production plans to spend $37.5 million directly and hire more than 1,100 people for the project.