The Merc with a Mouth is back!
Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date – Deadpool & Wolverine. A listless Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary,
Deadpool, behind him. When his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly
suit-up again with an even more reluctantlier… reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a
reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to…ahh hell, just watch the movie!
The next instalment of the MCU’s Phase Five (following Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, and The Marvels), Deadpool & Wolverine, set to be unleashed across theatres from July 25th in Australia, could be the biggest yet, and Reynolds, Jackman and director Shawn Levy are leaving no infinity stone unturned as they take their film globally.
Following an exclusive 40-minute look at the film, our Peter Gray was invited to the global press conference out of Seoul to hear the trio discuss their love of the city (Reynolds’ daughter’s best friend happens to live there), the excitement behind their film, and marketing strategies; “I would put Deadpool and Wolverine on the front lines of the military”, Reynolds noted. “Not because we’re particularly brave, or good fighters, it would really illustrate the strength and might of the Korean soldiers.”
Ryan and Hugh, whether it’s your own saying or other people saying it, Deadpool & Wolverine, as a film, has been promising that it’ll “save the MCU.” Does that place any burden on your shoulders?
Ryan Reynolds: I don’t know. None of that stuff is self-imposed. From the earliest days, Shawn and I were writing this script in my apartment in New York City. I remember we wrote this sort of “Marvel Jesus” bit in the movie, which is really just more of a way to illustrate Deadpool’s own self-delusion. It certainly wasn’t meant to be a commentary on the film industry, Marvel, comic books…any of that stuff.
But yeah, Marvel hit a bit of a rough patch, maybe (more) than normal. They required a little bit of a reset, and suddenly that storyline became ultra relevant. More externally than for us (personally). When the three of us set out to make this film, we had a very specific North Star, and that was to deliver unbridled joy and audacity to audiences. To delight audiences all over the world.
Hugh Jackman: Doing this movie with Ryan and Shawn, who happen to be two of my best friends in the world, this is a dream project. I am so proud of how the film came out. I am so thrilled to be back playing a role that I didn’t think I would play again. But I embraced it with all my heart. I’ve never been happier playing the role, and I’ve never been prouder of a Wolverine movie, or a movie where Wolverine is in it (more) than this one.
Some have even described the film as an “anticipated romance.” How does it feel hearing that?
Hugh Jackman: I love that it’s very anticipated. The word romance? Wow…
Shawn Levy: Yeah, that’s an interesting word. It’s certainly a movie about friendship and that brotherhood…
Ryan Reynolds: And romance too. You see romance in sports. There’s romantic elements to this. It’s poetry.
Hugh Jackman: And Wolverine’s version of romance we explored fully: Punching (Deadpool) in the face a lot.
Deadpool & Wolverine (and whichever other MCU players are coming to play in this multiversal setting) will release in Australian theatres on July 25th, 2024, before opening in the United States on July 26th.
