We’re now less than a few days away from a team-up that’s been years in the making.Deadpool & Wolverineis finally reunitingRyan ReynoldsandHugh Jackmanand introducing them as the MCU’s newest power couple. This Marvel mash-up is a collision of universes,variants, and wish fulfillment like we’ve never seen before, and will be the introduction of Reynold’s iconic Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed byShawn Levy, fans are going to be treated to cameos from across the multiverse and action-packed sequences from Marvel’s two most unlikely heroes.
As excitement for this epic blockbuster ramps up, Collider’sSteve Weintraubspoke with executive producerWendy Jacobson(She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) about what’s already shaping up to be a box office hit. Check out the full conversation in the video above or the transcript below for information oncameos, deleted scenes, gag reels, and the obstacles the cast and crew faced in production.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Wolverine joins the “merc with a mouth” in the third installment of the Deadpool film franchise.
COLLIDER: I heard through the grapevine that when you guys did the first test screening, it tested incredibly well. What is it like to have a screening go so well when you’re first putting it in front of people?
WENDY JACOBSON: Truthfully, we are just driven by trying to deliver audience satisfaction more so than box office. That’s the place that we work from every day throughout the entire filmmaking process. So, for audiences to enjoy the film or for it to resonate with them, it’s the greatest gift you could ask for. It’s what we set out to do.
This film has an awful lot of cameos. Were there any cameos that you guys tried to get that couldn’t happen, or did everything you tried to do work out?
JACOBSON: Cameo is not a word that we really use in our filmmaker group because I think that implies more of a shock value. For us, we are purely story-driven, and if a character does or does not show up, they’re either driving the story, or have a full beginning, middle, and end emotional arc. Everything we set out to do from a story perspective from the beginning really worked out for us.
So basically, no one said no.
JACOBSON: [Laughs] Your words, not mine.
What do you think would surprise fans to learn about making a movie like this?
JACOBSON: I don’t know if this would surprise fans, but to see truly how hard Ryan and Hugh and Shawn work. There’s nothing that’s a given on any day just because they’re a giant movie star, just because they’re so talented. These guys pour their entire mind, body, and soul into the movie set. Hugh and Ryan are in the gym at 3:00 or 4:00 am, then they have a full day of shooting, and they just never stop. They really are so wholeheartedly committed and give everything to making these movies. I don’t know if that would surprise people, maybe they expect that, but to me, it’s pretty remarkable to see guys at that level working just as hard as they probably did at the beginning of their careers.
Even the Crew Can’t Wait for the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Gag Reel
I’m fascinated by the editing process. When you get in the editing room, you guys are all working on it. How did the film change in the editing room in ways you didn’t expect going in?
JACOBSON: It’s hard to say because the editing process, especially in a comedy, is all about trying things, seeing what works, seeing what doesn’t, and so I think that was all organic. I don’t think there were many huge surprises during the editing of the film.
Did you end up with a lot of deleted scenes?
JACOBSON: There are only a few deleted scenes that are very, very short. Structurally, the script and what we set out to make was so sound. But I will say there’s probably an infinite number of alt jokes or line readings, or this or that because there’s so much great comedy gold and improvisation. I feel like you probably could have made an infinite number of versions of this film.
Eventually, this will be out on Blu-ray, 4K, and all that stuff. How much have you guys thought about showing people, “We filmed this 15 times and there are 15 great jokes, and we chose one?”
JACOBSON: That is a great question. I’m not sure if we’re gonna be able to pull that off in the time that we have to deliver for home entertainment, but we’re definitely gonna have a few deleted scenes, and hopefully maybe a gag reel where you could see how many versions of a similar joke there were.
I would imagine producing a film like this has enormous challenges along the way. What are one or two obstacles that you had to overcome as a producer to keep this train on the tracks?
JACOBSON: Honestly, the biggest challenge that we had was after shutting down and coming back in the winter in London. When we started shooting the film, it was meant to be a spring-summer shoot, so all the costumes were designed that way.Suddenly, we’re back in December in London, and it’s 20 degrees outside, and you have half the movie in the can.You can’t just start dressing people in jackets in warm weather, so we had to pivot and have heating tents and heating tubes. We had an army of costumers standing by with parkas, basically. As soon as you would say cut, they’d run in there and wrap everyone up. Aside from it being absolutely freezing, we also had three to four hours less daylight every day, so we had less time to actually make the movie. That, by far, was the biggest challenge we had to overcome.
Deadpool & Wolverineis in theaters on July 26. Check the link below for showtimes:
