Shawn Levy is no novice when it comes to rumors surrounding his projects. Years later, ‘Stranger Things’ taught him how to mute the sound. Still, even he was surprised by the sheer amount of speculation surrounding ‘Deadpool’ & Wolverine.”
“The buzz around this movie is overwhelming,” Levy told The Associated Press earlier this year. “But that also applies to the anticipation, and that is a great situation.”
Anticipation may be an understatement for a film that’s poised to become the theatrical event of the summer when it opens Thursday.
The first trailer, which aired during the Super Bowl, was viewed a record 365 million times online in the first 24 hours. The second broke another record – for most “F-bombs” in the MCU (six in under three minutes).
A lot of that excitement comes from the fact that this film marks the first time that Ryan Reynolds’ foul-mouthed Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine have been combined in Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Both properties previously existed under the 21st Century Fox banner.
When Disney took over the studio’s film and TV assets in early 2019, Wolverine had already died in “Logan,” a third “Deadpool” was in development and Marvel was still firmly in the PG-13 business, a rating that only allows one F. -bomb.
On a call with investors as the deal went through, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger already assured people that a Disney Deadpool would maintain an R rating. Shortly afterwards, Reynolds also posted a photo on social media showing his character wearing Mickey Mouse ears in a yellow school bus labeled “Disney.” The meta-humor, it seemed, was also firmly intact.
But what would the story be? Levy was announced as the film’s director in early 2022, coming in as a fan of Reynolds’ stringy delivery and breaking of the fourth wall.
“There was no way I was going to reinvent a wheel, a tone wheel, that works so beautifully,” Levy said. “Both Disney and Marvel, both in the food chain and beyond, enabled Ryan and I to make this film exactly as we dreamed.”
However, things really started to take shape when Jackman signed that fall. It would be the first time the characters would star together in a movie since 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” In the years since, Reynolds and Jackman have staged a very tongue-in-cheek, very funny “feud” with each other on social media , dancing around the idea of sharing the big screen again.
The dream seemed to have died after the retirement of “Logan” and Jackman as Wolverine. But death is never truly final in the multiverse, and they promised this movie wouldn’t disrupt “Logan.”
“They’re a very interesting duo,” said Levy. “They are built for enormous conflict with each other because they are so different individually. But that makes for a very interesting story, because the best two-hander stories, whether it’s “Midnight Run” or “48 Hours” or “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” yes, it’s riddled with conflict. But ultimately it is also about more and that is what the audience will see.”
The dynamic was also fueled by the real-life friendship between Levy, Jackman and Reynolds, which dates back a decade off-screen and includes films like “Free Guy” and “Real Steel.”
“The real benefit of being friends from a distance is that you can try crazy things without fear of falling. Because some of it won’t work and that will be temporarily embarrassing, but when you’re among friends, it’s okay to make a fool of yourself in the search for something surprising and something unexpected,” Levy said. “This film is filled with moments, both comedic and character-based, that we didn’t expect and that were the result of the freedom that comes from being friends.”
At the New York premiere on Monday, Jackman and Reynolds were clearly in friend mode, praising each other without any excuses.
“(Ryan’s) exactly what you think,” Jackman said. “An extraordinary man. Generous, modestly brilliant and a wonderful friend.”
Reynolds added that Jackman was “someone who operated in a very different way and did everything from the perspective of genuine kindness, dedication and hard work.” And that was modeled for me in 2008, when we made our first film together. And we’ve been best friends ever since.”
The Marvel multiverse has become a bit overwhelming in recent years for more casual fans who may have seen most of the films but have only delved into the Disney+ offering that regularly introduces new concepts and characters that eventually make their way into the films find. “Deadpool & For example, Wolverine’ uses the Time Variance Authority (TVA) – a key part of ‘Loki’ but new to the films – to bring Deadpool into the MCU. But Levy promises that enjoying ‘Deadpool & Wolverine” requires no bingeing or studying beforehand.
“I was a good student in school. I will do my homework as an adult. But I have absolutely no intention of doing homework when I go to the movies,” Levy said.
“I made this film very much with certainly a healthy respect and gratitude towards the rabid fanbase that is fluent in the mythology and lore of these characters and this world. But I didn’t want to assume that. This film was made for entertainment, without the obligation to do prior research.”
So, what about what’s IN the movie? Well, that’s something Levy won’t really talk about. Until Monday’s premiere, reporters were only allowed to view 40 minutes; Soon the floodgates will open and spoilers will take over social media.
But “Deadpool & Wolverine” didn’t need to tease out storylines to build excitement. The fans are already there and ready, whether or not Taylor Swift is involved (for all intents and purposes, she isn’t).
Marvel has had a number of Phase 5 bumps, with films like “The Marvels” underperforming financially and others disappointing critics. And outside the MCU, the industry is feeling the pain of the so-called “superhero fatigue” that has sent DC back to the drawing board to start over. But “Deadpool & Wolverine” is not to be underestimated.
Critics were also mostly positive. AP’s Krysta Fauria wrote in her review that the film “leans more on its genre than the first two films in the franchise.” She warns that the plot starts to feel a bit aimless towards the end, but that “the bloody yet comical final fight scene… is enough to get viewers pumped up for the final act, cementing the film’s identity as a fun, generally well-made summer film is strengthened.
And it could be the first MCU film since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” to gross a billion dollars, which would also put it in the running to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. That title currently belongs to “Joker” with his $1.08 billion. Currently, the stock is expecting an opening of around $160 million, but some bullish analysts are predicting a high of $200 million. To beat last year’s opening of “Barbie,” it would need to top $162 million.
“Audiences are looking forward to a great time at the movies,” says Levy. “They want to be happy, transported and entertained. And when they hear that, whether it’s “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” or any number of other recent films, they show up.
He added: “The film is made for the enjoyment of the audience. I think (they’re) in for a really fun ride.”
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Producer John Carucci contributed to this report.
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A version of this story first moved on April 25, 2024, as part of AP’s Summer Movie Preview. It has been updated to reflect the current date, with box office tracking and quotes from the New York premiere and AP’s review.
