DYK Ryan Reynolds And Shawn Levy Almost Shelved Deadpool & Wolverine?

A third film in Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool & Wolverine, is said to be one of the highly-awaited releases of the superhero genre from the MCU. Marking the first of many, the film is also Marvel’s first R-rated film. Further, the X-Men and MCU collaboration is the cherry on top, as it has got fans more than excited for the return of Hugh Jackman’s Logan aka Wolverine. With just a few weeks to go, the hype around the film is quite high, and the makers seem confident that it will bring back the glory days.

While hopes are high and so is the excitement around it, there was also a time when the third Deadpool film was facing a near-death experience when Hugh Jackman came to its rescue.

In a recent conversation with Vanity Fair, director Shawn Levy along with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds opened up about the process of making Deadpool & Wolverine. They even revealed that the film was close to being shelved indefinitely.

Deadpool & Wolverine Was Shelved?

As the trio turned up for the candid conversation, they recalled Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox when Reynolds started pitching a “lot” of ideas to Marvel for the third Deadpool film. Even as Levy later joined the team, another hurdle came from finding a perfect narrative to make sense for the character. At that time, a film with Jackman wasn’t even being considered, especially after the actor bid adieu to his adamantium claws in 2017’s Logan.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, too, had advised to “not tamper with that legacy.”

“We frankly struggled to find a story that felt original and non-derivative of the other two Deadpool movies. It had to be deserving of the first Deadpool entry into the MCU, but it also feels grounded because this is an earthbound, gritty, realistic superhero franchise. We had fits and starts. And Ryan and I were right on 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,” Levy shared.

At a time when Deadpool’s future almost had a setback, Ryan received a call from Jackman in August 2022 and saw hope.

Joining in the conversation, the Logan star said, “I was sitting on a beach, not a care in the world, and for some reason, the thought came into my head: What do you want to do? And the first two things had nothing to do with work—then literally, I thought: Deadpool-Wolverine. I want to do that movie. That’s what I want.”

This is not the first time that Hugh Jackman has revealed why he came back as Wolverine. However, it was his impromptu decision that eventually brought the film to life.