It was revealed during Super Bowl LVIII that the third entry in the Deadpool movie franchise would be named Deadpool & Wolverine, with longstanding Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman coming out of superhero retirement to don the adamantium claws once more in Deadpool’s first MCU entry under the Disney ownership banner. With Wolverine being one of the most popular characters in not only X-Men — but comic book history, and Jackman’s attachment to the character being of equal significance, it seems an understatement to say that Wolverine is starring alongside Deadpool in a Deadpool movie and director Shawn Levy expressed why the third Deadpool film shouldn’t be considered just a Deadpool film at the end of the day.
“As far as crafting the Deadpool and Wolverine story, I just felt privileged every day because you’re talking about two massive movie stars in their most iconic roles,” Levy told ScreenRant at CinemaCon. “It also gave me an opportunity. It’s the third Deadpool movie, but it’s not Deadpool 3. It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool and Wolverine. And it’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.”
Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds revealed back in April of last year that Jackman’s Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine would be “something completely new” from the character’s previous appearances in the X-Men films and that it wouldn’t “mess with the timeline” established for the character in what is considered his final film portrayal in 2017’s Logan.
Levy went on to say that Deadpool & Wolverine is “going to be gnarly” and “it’s gonna be funny,” and that he and the film’s crew “wanted to build a great time at the theater for audiences” as their primary goal. He added that he’s been pleased with early screenings of the film.
“We have had some early screenings that were extremely, extremely promising,” Levy continued. “I wouldn’t say that there were any big surprises, but you feel where the pace wants to tighten, you feel where you can afford to slow down and have a deeper, more durable character moment.”
Are you looking forward to Deadpool & Wolverine even if it’s “the third Deadpool movie, but not Deadpool 3,” according to director Shawn Levy? Do you agree that both characters deserve equal billing because of their iconic nature in comic bookdom? Let us know in the comments.
