Deadpool & Wolverine is quite an emotional moment for Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. In addition to being the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is also the first to be R-rated and the first to feature a classic X-Men character as a protagonist. The Multiverse Saga, orchestrated by producer Kevin Feige behind the scenes, takes a drastic turn by introducing Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson/Deadpool, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and others into the main Disney-owned MCU franchise. Of course, these were arguably the most prominent leads from the now-defunct Fox Marvel universe. This third Deadpool movie wouldn’t have been possible without the 2019 Disney-Fox merger, a historic moment in the entertainment industry that suddenly gave Feige’s regime access to all Marvel Comics properties. Marvel Studios regained the rights to the Fantastic Four as well, and fans can already expect a new film adaptation to hit theaters next year.
The latest raunchy and blood-soaked Deadpool adventure sees the Merc with the Mouth travel into the Multiverse in search of a Wolverine who can possibly help save his timeline. As fans know, Hugh Jackman last portrayed James Howlett in James Mangold’s Logan in 2017. The third film in Jackman’s solo Wolverine trilogy, Logan served as a final goodbye to his beloved portrayal of the famous X-Man. To protect his younger clone Laura/X-23 (Dafne Keen), Jackman’s Logan made the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life to ensure that she and a group of surviving mutants had a future. This version of the character is not the same in Deadpool & Wolverine. Thanks to Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) of the TVA, the bureaucratic organization that oversees the Sacred Timeline (which was introduced in Loki on Disney+), Deadpool meets a Wolverine “variant” with a more troubled past than fans are familiar with.
Ever since Avengers: Endgame brought the Infinity Saga to an end, MCU fans have gotten a taste of what unpredictable possibilities the Multiverse Saga can offer. Spider-Man: No Way Home brought the nostalgic returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s iterations of the titular web-slinger. Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine in a comic-accurate yellow and blue costume is only the tip of the iceberg here. Deadpool & Wolverine gives audiences even more delightful surprises, all of which are best saved unspoiled for the theater. We sat down with studio head Kevin Feige himself for an exclusive interview focused on Deadpool & Wolverine. We discuss honoring the legacy of Logan (2017), adjusting to Deadpool’s sense of meta-humor, and how X-Men ’97 on Disney+ was the first step in bringing the mutants and their mythology to the MCU.
Additionally, you can read what Kevin Feige exclusively told us about Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man/Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers returning to the MCU right here on DiscussingFilm!
Exclusive Interview with Producer Kevin Feige for Deadpool & Wolverine
One of the biggest tasks with Deadpool & Wolverine was bringing back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine without negating the movie Logan. What do you think was the most challenging aspect of preserving Logan‘s legacy?
Kevin Feige: Well, that was something we had talked about many, many years ago. One of the earliest conversations I had with Hugh Jackman after the acquisition of Fox by Disney was that Logan is one of the greatest stories ever — we can’t undo that. We can’t touch that, and we didn’t for many years. When the idea came about, and when the storyline [for Deadpool & Wolverine] came about, and when Hugh reached out to Ryan Reynolds in what is now a momentous moment, I believe, in certainly Marvel history and maybe movie history, it was still all about asking, okay, how do we do this in a way that doesn’t, as you say, negate the amazing drama and emotion of Logan?
The timing was just right because the multiverse is something we had already established and set up, and the Time Variance Authority was right there to help us navigate those waters in a way that allowed Deadpool to go search for a version of Wolverine that wasn’t dead in the ground. I think that [right from the beginning of the movie], we run straight at that.
Deadpool loves to wink at the audience and make his jokes, but in Deadpool & Wolverine, specifically, he’s poking a lot of fun at Marvel Studios itself and even some recent criticisms from fans. What was that like, from your point of view, to see Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy really lay one in on Marvel Studios?
Kevin Feige: You say riffing, and there certainly was some riffing throughout almost all of it. Particularly, everything you’re mentioning now was in the script. It’s part of the Deadpool character himself. In Deadpool 2, he shoots himself in the head multiple times. He shoots Ryan Reynolds for reading the Green Lantern script, right? So, if you can’t poke fun at yourself, that’s sort of not the spirit of Marvel in general, but also specifically of Deadpool.
I think [all the inside jokes] were definitely something Deadpool is allowed to say. You know, he speaks off the cuff in a way that, of course, has been written months before in the script, but you need to be able to take the heat. He makes fun of himself, he makes fun of Wolverine, and he makes fun of us [at Marvel Studios]. It’s frankly, some of our favorite parts of the movie.
You mentioned how the TVA helped make the story of Deadpool & Wolverine possible. Marvel fans will quickly recognize the TVA from Loki on Disney+. However, you can’t assume that your whole theater audience has watched that show on streaming. Have you found that easier to navigate in recent years, connecting the Disney+ shows to the MCU movies?
Kevin Feige: I think it’s all about asking, “What does the story require?” The storyline in Deadpool & Wolverine requires the ability to jump through timelines. The TVA organization is established in the first 40 minutes of the movie as a place that is new to Deadpool. He has no idea what this place is, and that makes him the audience surrogate. We presume that nobody knows what the TVA is when they come into the movie. And we’re led throughout the TVA through Deadpool’s eyes, similar to the first time we went on a Helicarrier in the first Avengers. You see that new environment and new location for the first time through your hero’s eyes.
This movie further cements Hugh Jackman’s icon status as Wolverine. By all means, he is the Wolverine. But, of course, anything can happen in the Multiverse. Considering that Marvel Studios is in the early stages of reintroducing the X-Men, do you think there’s still a possibility for another actor to take over the role and give their take on Wolverine later down the line?
Kevin Feige: Yes. You know, Marvel is celebrating its 85th anniversary later this summer. That’s just the first 85 years, and Disney just celebrated 100 years as well. I think these characters will be around for another 100 years, long after all of us. So, for sure, there will be [eventually another actor as Wolverine]. I think it will be in a very different style and in a different way. I also think if somebody were to attempt to do a Hugh Jackman as Wolverine impression, that would be a pretty big mistake.
As comic readers know, there have been various and very, very different versions of these characters over the decades. It would be fun to explore different ones someday down the line. Again, we don’t have immediate plans by any means. But in the decades to come, I think it’s inevitable. If that happens, it would have to be a very different and bold reinterpretation of [the character] because no one will be as great as Hugh Jackman at doing his version of Wolverine.
Lastly, I remember growing up with the Fox X-Men films throughout the early 2000s, and you have been very enthusiastic about bringing the iconic superhero team to the MCU ever since. What does it feel like, for you, to have come this far with integrating mutants into the MCU? After Deadpool & Wolverine, it certainly feels like we’re closer to seeing the X-Men and Avengers together on the big screen.
Kevin Feige: It is extremely emotional, on a personal level, to have done a movie with Hugh after 25 years and me being a small part of that first X-Men movie. And knowing that, thanks to various corporate studio entity deals, we now have 1000s of characters back — characters I hadn’t frankly thought about in many years because we didn’t have the rights to them. Now that we do, it is great fun thinking [about who we can finally]. Our animated series X-Men ’97 was sort of the first taste of people reuniting with the X-Men mythology and that storyline. The response to that series just further excited us about how to bring the soap opera and the saga of the mutants to the MCU.
Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26!
Release Date: July 26, 2024.
Directed by Shawn Levy.
Written by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, & Shawn Levy.
Based on Marvel Comics.
Produced by Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, & Lauren Shuler Donner.
Executive Producers: Louis D’Esposito, George Dewey, Wendy Jacobson, Simon Kinberg, Jonathon Komack Martin, Josh Mcaglen, Mary McLaglen, Rhett Reese, & Paul Wernick.
Main Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, Shioli Kutsuna, Randal Reeder, Lewis Tan, Aaron Stanford, Dafne Keen, Wunmi Mosaku, & dog actor Peggy.
Cinematographer: George Richmond.
Composer: Rob Simonsen.
Production Companies: Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, & 21 Laps Entertainment.
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios.
Runtime: 128 minutes.
