Deadpool and Wolverine director was "completely shocked" at the creative freedom Marvel gave them for the superhero sequel
Jul. 22, 2024Exclusive: Shawn Levy says he and Ryan Reynolds would often wait for the inevitable pushback, but “it never came”
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As self-aware and wise-cracking as he is, there was no way the Merc with a Mouth was going to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe andnotpoke fun of the billion-dollar franchise. That said, director Shawn Levy was still surprised by how many jokes he and co-writer Ryan Reynolds got away with inDeadpool and Wolverine.
In the trailers so far, we’ve seen the titular Wade Wilson namecheckMarvel Studiosboss Kevin Feige, as he tells his pal Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) that “cocaine is the one thing Feige said is off-limits”, and caught glimpses of a ‘20th Century Fox’ logo in a Void-looking wasteland.
In the 35 minutes shown to press pre-release, there’s even a moment where Deadpool introduces Hugh Jackman’s drunken mutant to his timeline and notes: “Welcome to the MCU, you’re joining at a bit of a low point,” undoubtedly a nod to how fans' interest seems to waning slightly, with Marvel’s recent entries struggling to match toSpider-Man: No Way Home’s $1.9 billion. And there’s plenty more gags where that came from…
“What we realized is that the law of the land on this movie with Kevin Feige, who knew what he was signing up for, was that ‘if it’s funny, it sticks,'” recalls Levy. “If it [was] not funny, it was like, ‘let’s talk about the merits on a comedic basis.’ It really was ‘anything goes’. The creative freedom that Marvel gave us was, frankly, completely shocking, but completely thrilling.”
Also starring Rob Delaney, Matthew Macfadyen, andEmma Corrin as villain Cassandra Nova, Deadpool and Wolverine lands in UK cinemas on July 25, and a day later in the US. For more, check out all theupcoming Marvel movies and showson the way, as well as our guide to how to watch theMarvel movies in order.
Listen out for our chat with Levy on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, which is available onApple,Audioboom,Spotify, and more.
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I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.
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