Marvel movies are the Golden Goose of today. They are worshiped because even though these films cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make, the profit margins are so high (most of the time) that the producers will keep trying to milk them, not to mention all the fresh faces that get a huge career boost if the movie is a success. In short, Marvel films are one of the most powerful forces in modern cinema.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman know this simple truth from experience, which is why they know how to make a hit Marvel movie. And you may not have enjoyed those two hours you spent in the theater, but the numbers don’t lie—Deadpool & Wolverine is way past the billion-dollar mark and will only grow bigger.
Now, let’s take a look at what was going on behind the scenes so we can appreciate this R-rated masterpiece even more!
1. Deadpool 3 would not work without Wolverine
While the writers were looking for a cool concept for the new DP movie, Marvel bought FOX, which made things even more exciting and opened a whole lot of doors for Ryan Reynolds. The next Deadpool film had to be bigger and better, and that’s where Hugh Jackman came up with the idea to bring back Wolverine.
In one of the interviews, Jackman said that the Marvel/FOX deal was finalized shortly after Logan was released, so his promise to never play the character again went out the window in a matter of months. Jackman then volunteered to don the Wolverine persona at least one more time, and at that moment, Ryan knew this movie was going to blow people’s minds.
2. The Reynoldspool family
Did you know that Ryan involved his whole family in making Deadpool & Wolverine? Sure, figuring out that Blake Lively’s voicing Lady Deadpool was easy, but did you spot the couple’s four kids? Inez, James, and Betty are credited as Kidpool, Screaming Mutant, and Hugh Jackman Wrangler, respectively, while their son Olin played the cute and hilarious Babypool.
3. Bye, Bye, Bye!
One of the most memorable and viral parts of the movie was definitely the gruesome NSYNC routine in the opening credits. The Bye, Bye, Bye dance was not performed by Reynolds, which would be a real feat for his age, but instead, it was Ryan’s stunt double Nick Pauley who somehow mastered the whole sequence in half an hour.
4. Taylor Swift cameo
You know how those YouTube channels that make breakdowns for comic book movies sometimes spiral out so hard that the rest of the Internet starts to believe Mephisto is the mastermind of the MCU? Yes, well, the same thing happened with the whole Taylor Swift/Deadpool rabbithole. Now it’s finally confirmed that TSwizzle was not in the movie and was never going to be. Turns out one of the biggest rumors just came out of nowhere and lived rent-free in people’s heads for years.
5. Yes, it was Henry Cavill as Wolverine
During a sequence where Deadpool is traveling through alternate realities to find himself a proper Wolverine, we get to see Henry Cavill as one of the variants. The idea came from Ryan, and after a few texts with Cavill, the deal was done. The whole DCEU reboot probably made this decision very easy for Henry. And if there’s anyone who could replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, it would be the best Superman.
6. Cameo-palooza
To say that DP&W had many cameos would be an understatement of the decade. The movie throws dozens upon dozens of familiar faces and characters at the viewer, from big MCU stars like Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans to old but still iconic actors who helped build the foundation, like Wesley Snipes, Aaron Stanford, and Jennifer Garner. And then there’s Channing Tatum. The best part of all these cameos is that Ryan secured almost all of them over the phone or via text. Yes, just like that: “Would you like to have a cameo in DP&W?” Like, who would say no to that?
7. Channing Tatum’s Gambit
In case you were wondering why the heck did Tatum play Remy LeBeau aka Gambit, here’s the gist of it. Over a decade ago, FOX greenlit a Gambit movie, attaching Tatum to it, but unfortunately, FOX got the movie lost in limbo for many years. The project was cursed; nobody could come up with a decent script, and then Daddy Disney bought Fox. So, as you can imagine, this version of Gambit may never see the light of day again. Oh, and one more thing: Tatum improved all those nonsensical Cajun/French lines, which makes his character even funnier.
