Given his self-awareness and knack for witty remarks, it was inevitable that the Merc with a Mouth would take jabs at the billion-dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe upon his debut. That said, director Shawn Levy was still surprised by how many jokes he and co-writer Ryan Reynolds got away with in Deadpool and Wolverine.
The filmmaker, who also penned the threequel with Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells, revealed to GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film that he presumed someone would make them stop. Every time they turned in a draft of the script, or a new cut of the movie, Ryan and Levy would sit back, waiting for what they thought was the inevitable pushback… and it never came.
In the trailers so far, we've seen the titular Wade Wilson namecheck Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, as he tells his pal Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) that certain things are off-limits, and caught glimpses of a '20th Century Fox' logo in a Void-looking wasteland. In the 35 minutes shown to press pre-release, there's even a moment where Deadpool introduces Hugh Jackman's drunken mutant to his timeline and notes the low point of joining the MCU, undoubtedly a nod to how fans' interest seems to be waning slightly with Marvel's recent entries struggling to match to Spider-Man: No Way Home's $1.9 billion. And there's plenty more gags where that came from.
Levy recalls that the law of the land on this movie with Kevin Feige was that if something is funny, it sticks. If it wasn't funny, it was discussed on a comedic basis. It really was anything goes. The creative freedom that Marvel gave them was, frankly, completely shocking but completely thrilling.
Also starring Rob Delaney, Matthew Macfadyen, and Emma Corrin as villain Cassandra Nova, Deadpool and Wolverine lands in UK cinemas on July 25, and a day later in the US. For additional information, explore all the forthcoming Marvel films and series, and take a look at our guide on the chronological order to view the Marvel movies.
Listen out for their chat with Levy on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, available on Apple, Audioboom, Spotify, and more.