By Zach Johnson
In Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, Wade Wilson thinks his days as Deadpool are behind him—until he unexpectedly finds himself in a fight for the survival of his home world. If he wants to save the day, he must convince a reluctant Wolverine to help him do it.
“Deadpool can be philosophical in one moment and then have the brain of a half-eaten ham sandwich in the next,” actor, writer, and producer Ryan Reynolds said over the weekend during the film’s global press conference. “He’s a very unpredictable and mercurial character. The thing that always brings him close to my heart—and to other people’s—is his vulnerability. He’s a character in a shame spiral, and so much of what he’s doing is based on his avoidance and maladaptive coping mechanisms around that shame.”
Reynolds continued, “He and Wolverine are more similar than different… The thing that they are running away from is shame, and they just both handle it in very different ways. I was more interested in what these two characters had in common… than what they didn’t.”
Before Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters Friday, here are five more things to know:
1. Hugh Jackman really thought he was done playing Wolverine before this movie.
Following multiple appearances in the X-Men franchise, Hugh Jackman hung up his cowl with Logan (2017). But once he saw the Merc with the Mouth, he realized there may be more to Wolverine’s story. “I watched Deadpool three days after announcing that Logan would be my last [appearance as Wolverine], and I remember thinking, ‘Oops,’” he said with a laugh. “Because I could see the movie… It was Midnight Run, it was 48 Hours, it was The Odd Couple, it was Planes, Trains and Automobiles—all those great matchups I could feel.”
So, on August 14, 2022, Jackman decided to reach out to Reynolds. “I don’t know why. I just knew every cell in my body was yelling at me: ‘I wanna do this movie,’” he recalled. “So much so that I pulled my car over [to] the side of the road and I rang Ryan immediately.”
2. Deadpool & Wolverine marks Marvel Studios’ first R-rated film.
Although Deadpool & Wolverine includes blood, violence, and strong language, producer Kevin Feige argued that it’s “the most wholesome R-rated movie ever.” Reynolds agreed with Feige, saying, “I felt like that was the pithiest way of explaining the movie. The R-rating is never exploited… It really is there as a facility to tell the most authentic story about these two very iconic characters coming together on-screen for the first time in the exact right way.” Plus, Reynolds said, “Everything is in service of this movie being as warm as possible and as emotional as possible, while still being the most unexpected MCU film in history.”
To that point, writer, director, and producer Shawn Levy said, “The MCU is always at its best when it is giving us something we don’t expect… We had an opportunity collectively to do the first R-rated MCU movie and the first pairing of Deadpool and Wolverine. And built into this opportunity was the chance to surprise—to do something new and unexpected.
3. Deadpool and Wolverine aren’t the only MCU newcomers.
In addition to the title characters, the film introduces a handful of new heroes and villains to the MCU, such as Mr. Paradox (Matthew Mcfadyen) and Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).
Early in the film, agents from the Time Variance Authority (TVA) crash Wade’s birthday party. They’ve been dispatched by Mr. Paradox, who wants to recruit Deadpool for a special assignment. “Mr. Paradox is an interesting character,” Mcfadyen teased. “He’s a slightly angry, jangly, middle-management, upper apparatchik who’s ambitious for greater things.”
Later in the film, Deadpool and Wolverine encounter Cassandra Nova—who is effectively Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister. “The term ‘villain’ is a great one, and we all know villains have the most fun,” said Corrin. “I really needed to find a key into what made her tick, to find [a way] to empathize with her. And for me, that was her relationship with her brother.”
4. The film’s soundtrack is appropriately eclectic.
With songs by *NSYNC (“Bye Bye Bye”), The Goo Goo Dolls (“Iris”), Huey Lewis & The News (“The Power of Love”), Avril Lavigne (“I’m with You”), and Aretha Franklin (“You’re All I Need to Get By”), the Deadpool & WolverineOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrack has a little bit of everything. “A Deadpool soundtrack is always unique,” Levy explained. “It’s something that is so Ryan-based. His taste is all over the place. Deadpool movies always have a soundtrack that makes no sense on paper, because it’s so diverse and so disparate.”
One of the most buzzed about tracks is “SLASH” by Stray Kids.
“South Korea understands how to make gigantic global impressions in culture through film, through music, through art of any kind,” Reynolds said. “There’s something about whatever the wind is blowing through Seoul and its surrounding areas that is sticky to culture. K-pop is certainly one aspect of that. Years ago, Stray Kids—we just called ’em the Kids—did a Deadpool-inspired music video, which I thought was phenomenal. I reached out to one of the members, and he and I became fast digital friends, and [since then] we’ve met in person. That was it. The initial plan—and I’ve never said this out loud before—was to have them appear in the film.” While that “became logistically impossible,” he revealed, “I will never forget the look on our line producer’s face when I said that there are eight of them.”
5. The cast and crew are having as much fun with the rumors as fans are.
Every day, a new rumor or theory about the film pops up. Corrin’s favorite? “The King Charles one,” they said. Reynolds joked that the monarch “wanted to be in the movie,” saying, “We left a message; did not hear back,” Feige joked, “I think he was a prince when you started production. He was going to do it—but then he became king, so he couldn’t.”
And what about Jackman?
“I like the one that Ryan is Lady Deadpool,” he said. “I have actually been spreading that.”