Vanity Fair: Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman Talk DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy and stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman had a sit-down with Vanity Fair for an exclusive interview. The trio discussed the making of the long-awaited film, detailing how they formed the story and how Wolverine’s involvement changed things for the better. A few choice quotes are below, but click here to read the full feature.

Reynolds on coming up with the story, and how working on a big project like this means great sacrifice for one’s personal life:

“I felt like I spiritually owed one more [Deadpool film], but just trying to figure out what that would be—and how that would come about—took a while,” he said. “There’s a reason that it’s been six years since the last one. These movies just swallow lives whole. In a normal movie, you work your ass off. But on a movie like this, you forsake a lot of things that you maybe took for granted: sleep, seeing your family, the myth of the present father. There’s a lot of sacrifice. I mean, these are all uptown problems. I have a very intense relationship with the character and the world that character inhabits.”

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Levy on coming up with the story and how Jackman’s involvement made everything come together:

“We frankly struggled to find a story that felt original and non-derivative of the other two Deadpool movies,” he said. “It had to be deserving of the first Deadpool entry into the MCU, but also feel grounded because this is an earthbound, gritty, realistic superhero franchise. We had fits and starts. And Ryan and I were right at the edge of saying to Kevin, ‘You know what? Maybe now is not the right moment because we’re not coming up with a story.’ And that is the moment when Ryan’s phone rang and it was Hugh calling from his car. And I’ll let Hugh tell that chapter of this story.”

Jackman on returning to the legendary role that made him a household name, and how it feels fresher than ever:

“I instinctively knew that Deadpool was going to allow us to get to a different side of the [Wolverine] character than I’ve ever played before, in every way, from emotion, humor, dialogue, and action,” he said. “Everything felt new and fresh to me. And I’d be sharing it with Ryan and Shawn, who are two of my best friends. The three of us together are like the Three Amigos. There was not a day where I wasn’t in tears laughing. I felt so rejuvenated playing the part. I mean, I’m 25 years in, man, and it feels better than ever.”

Did an interview for @VanityFair with two of my best pals, talking about the time I got to make a movie with two of my best pals. I’ll never stop missing the making of #DeadpoolAndWolverine. The surprises, joy and fun. What a ride. https://t.co/yA58EeVNaj pic.twitter.com/CyhdB7hiob

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) June 24, 2024

Reynolds on protecting the legacy of James Mangold’s Logan and not messing with those events:

“Initially, we had a very loose idea of how we would bring Wolverine back in ways that don’t necessarily interact or interfere with Logan and that legacy,” he said. “I know Kevin, like Shawn and I and Hugh, were all very concerned about that. We really needed to protect that and still allow us to tell the most full-throated Wolverine story we could ever imagine, which for us was just a huge nerve-wracking privilege.”

Levy said Jackman’s performance in in the film “gives the movie a gravitas and a raw, soulful quality that is unbelievable.” Something that differentiates this from other X-Men or Deadpool movies is the duo aspect and “…the fact that Logan is with a comedic engine for the entirety of the movie changes everything.

Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26.

Source: Vanity Fair

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