Hitting theaters January 26, 2024 is a partnership between two Marvel comics legends, one a stoic, legendary X-Man, the other a comedic mercenary with a plethora of foul language in his arsenal.
Deadpool & Wolverine unites Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman with their most famous superhero alter egos, Wade Wilson (Deadpool) and Logan (Wolverine).
Bringing these two characters into one story doesn’t seem like the most obvious team up, but in hindsight it allows the most comedic and fourth-wall-breaking character in the Marvel universe to team up with one of the most feared but beloved X-Men in an adventure that crosses universes and time in an unparalleled way. It is something that within the comics that has been a fan favorite, now it gets to be brought o the silver screen.
Director Shawn Levy, who has been a prolific auteur in Hollywood for decades, has directed such projects as 2003’s Cheaper by the Dozen, the Night at the Museum trilogy, and most recently two different Ryan Reynolds films, The Adam Project and Free Guy.
It was during the filming of The Adam Project that Reynolds approached Levy to helm a new Deadpool feature. Now he gets the chance to guide the first Marvel Studios R-rated feature with two of the biggest personalities in the world, and bring heart and levity to the very violent worlds of both Deadpool and Wolverine in a buddy action-comedy.
Recently the cast and crew of the new superhero film gathered to talk about the creation and thought behind the bridging of two super properties into one chaotic adventure. The following are highlights of the press conference.
Deadpool & Wolverine is exclusively in theaters now.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan, Dogpool, and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in 20th Century Studios and Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine. Photo Credit: Jay Maidment. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
What made directing Deadpool and Wolverine your perfect entry into the MCU as a director?
SHAWN LEVY: Well, I think I got really lucky. I got really, really lucky because I got to be the first filmmaker to put this duo together onscreen. And I also got to do it, I mean, I think the MCU is always at its best when it is giving us something that we don’t expect. And under this banner, you have the capacity for a Ragnarök to sit alongside a Black Panther and an Ironman.
Ryan, when you heard that Disney owned Fox and that Deadpool was gonna be in the MCU, what was your reaction and expectation?
RYAN REYNOLDS: What was my expectation? I had no expectations. I’ve built a career on really having as few expectations as possible.
You know, and it really does prevent crippling disappointment. But I, you know, I’d met with Kevin and we had a really great meeting. This is five years ago, six years ago was our first kind of chat about the movie five years ago. And it was just, it was a very slow process. I mean, it wasn’t so much about pitching different ideas, which I did pitch many different ideas, but it was about pitching idea that both of us genuinely clicked with. And then of course, Shawn and I were shooting The Adam Project in Vancouver and I kinda said to him, “look, I think the only way I would do this is if I was not just writing this with you…but if you direct it, I would be into doing this.”
And then Shawn, yeah, just basically took his white glove off and slapped the side of my face with it like some sort of ‘20s harlot and said, “My glove to your damned insolent cheek, child.” And then for some reason after that said yes. And we’ve been on this insane, wonderful journey ever since. And, of course, none of this came to reality until Mr. Hugh Jackman decided one day to, yeah, to levitate down from the clouds or whatever sort of heaven nest he lives in and bless us with his presence on this film.
And on that note, Hugh, we know that you had hung up the Wolverine suit after Logan. What made you wanna come back?
HUGH JACKMAN: The real suit. No. [laughs] I watched Deadpool three days after announcing that Logan would be my last, and I remember thinking “oops.” Because I could see the movie. Listen, this wasn’t new to me ever since I played Wolverine, people have been talking about Deadpool and Wolverine and their rivalry from the comic books. And then of course, we had a sort of go at it with X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
But I could feel it. I could see it. It was Midnight Run. It was 48 Hours. It was The Odd Couple. Trains, Planes, Automobiles. It was all these great sort of matchups that I could feel. And we toyed with the idea, but it was August 14th, 2022 and I don’t know why, I just knew every cell in my body was yelling at me, “I wanna do this movie.” So much so that I pulled my car over from the side of the road and I rang Ryan immediately. ‘Cause I knew that they were getting close to filming. I thought they may have even been filming. And I asked him and thankfully he said yes.
Why does this movie need to be experienced in theaters?
RYAN: It is built for theaters. And there’s a thing that I love, and we’ve talked about this before, called collective effervescence.
And collective effervescence is basically when you get to experience a kind of elation that can only happen in a group or a shared experience. And movie theaters, since I was as small as I can remember, have been a temple of collective effervescence. And so, seeing a movie, especially one like this that is quite literally built as a fastball of joy, that is built for audience delight, that its sole purpose for being written and produced and created was joy.
Disney may say money or something about capitalism. But really genuinely, from our perspective, everyone sitting right here, it’s joy. And that is joy best experienced on a bigger the screen, the better.
HUGH: Can I add something? I think also, the movie is funny, it’s huge action, it’s massive, it’s all those things you want. But it’s also about friendship, and I think going to a cinema, whether it’s a friend or just someone close to you, I know it’s gonna be an experience that you’re gonna want to enjoy with others.
And as you said, in a temple or whatever that is, a modern-day temple. Going to a cinema, I think that with friends or people close to you is gonna make this experience the best.
PULLQUOTE: “It is built for theaters… especially one like this that is quite literally built as a fastball of joy, that is built for audience delight, that its sole purpose for being written and produced and created was joy.”
-Ryan Reynolds
