Shawn Levy is no newbie when it comes to rumors about his projects. Years on “Stranger Things” taught him how to tune out the noise. However, even he was surprised by the sheer volume of speculation surrounding “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
“The rumors surrounding this movie are overwhelming,” Levy told the Associated Press earlier this year. “But so is the expectation, which is a nice situation.”
Anticipation might be an understatement for a film that’s about to be the summer theatrical event, when it opens on Thursday.
O first trailer, which aired during the Super Bowl, was viewed a record 365 million times online in its first 24 hours. The second broke another record – for the most “F-bombs” in the MCU (six in less than three minutes).
Much of this excitement is due to the fact that this film marks the first time that Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine are being included in Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Both properties previously existed under the 21st Century Fox banner.
When Disney acquired the studio film and TV assets in early 2019Wolverine 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 for an F-bomb.
On a call with investors during the deal’s progress, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger was already assuring people that Disney’s Deadpool would remain rated-R. Soon after, Reynolds also posted a photo on social media showing off his character with Mickey Mouse ears on 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, becoming a fan of Reynolds’ sarcastic tone and fourth-wall breaking.
“There was no way to reinvent a wheel, a tonal wheel, that would work as well,” Levy said. “Both Disney and Marvel, up and down the food chain, empowered Ryan and I to make this movie exactly as we dreamed.”
Things really started to take shape when Jackman signed that fall. It would be the first time that the characters would be together in a film since 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”. In the following years, Reynolds and Jackman staged a very ironic and very funny “rivalry” 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 exactly final in the multiverse and, they promised, this film would not interfere with “Logan”.
“It’s a very interesting pairing,” said Levy. “They were made to face great conflicts with each other because they are very different individually. But this is a very interesting story, because the best two-hander stories, whether it’s ‘Midnight Run’ or ’48 Hours’ or ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’, yes, they are full of conflict. But ultimately it’s also about something more and that’s 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 off set is that you can try crazy things without fear of falling. Because some of it won’t work and it will be momentarily awkward, but if you’re among friends, it’s okay to make a fool of yourself in the search for something surprising and unexpected,” Levy said. “This film is full of moments, both comedic and character-based, that we didn’t expect and were the result of a freedom that comes from being friends.”
At the New York premiere on Monday, Jackman and Reynolds were definitely in buddy mode, praising each other without sarcasm.
“(Ryan) just as you think,” Jackman said. “An extraordinary man. Generous, humble, brilliant and a great friend.”
Reynolds added that Jackman was “someone who operated in a completely different way, did everything through the prism of genuine kindness, diligence 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 been interested in the Disney+ offerings that regularly introduce new concepts and characters that eventually make it into the films. “Dead Pool & Wolverine”, for example, uses the Time Variance Authority (TVA) – an important part of “Loki”, but new to the cinema – to help bring Deadpool to the MCU. But Levy promises that “Deadpool” fun & Wolverine” does not require binge eating or prior study.
“I was a good student in school. I’ll do my homework when I’m an adult. But I definitely don’t plan on doing my homework when I go to the movies,” Levy said.
“I made this film with certainly a healthy respect and gratitude for the rabid fan base that has maximum fluency 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 come prepared with prior research.”
So what’s in the film? Well, that’s something Levy doesn’t really talk about. Until Monday’s premiere, reporters were only allowed to see 40 minutes; Soon the floodgates will open and spoilers will take over social media.
But “Deadpool & Wolverine” didn’t need to reveal plots to spark enthusiasm. The fans are already there and ready, whether Taylor Swift is involved or not (apparently, she isn’t).
Marvel had some bumps in Phase 5, with films like “The Marvels” poor financial performance and other discouraging critics. And outside of the MCU, the industry is feeling the pain of so-called “superhero fatigue” that has sent DC back to the drawing boards to start again. But “Deadpool & Wolverine” should not be underestimated.
Critics were also largely positive. AP’s Krysta Fauria wrote in her review that the film “leans more into its genre than the first two films in the franchise.” She warns that the plot starts to feel a little aimless towards the end, but that “the bloody but comical final fight scene… is enough to keep viewers coming back for the last act, solidifying the film’s identity as a fun and generally well-made summer movie.”
And it could be the first MCU film since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” to gross $1 billion, which would also put it in contention to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. That title currently belongs to “Joker” with his $1.08 billion. It is currently expected to open around $160 million, but some optimistic analysts are predicting as much as $200 million. To surpass the debut of “Barbie” last year, it needs to exceed US$162 million.
“Audiences are eager to have fun at the movies,” Levy said. “They want to be enchanted, transported and entertained. And when they get that, whether it’s ‘Barbie,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ or any other recent film, they show up.”
He added, “The film was made to delight the audience. I think (they) are 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 was first published 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 analysis from AP.
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