If you look at the cover of “Deadpool & Wolverine” from about a year ago, you won’t see the name of the most famous member of the X-Men in the title. As recently, in December 2023/Cinema and other media simply called the future The highest grossing R-rated film of all time “Deadpool 3.” For what? According to a recent interview with Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy with IndieWireit all goes back to some tricky legal ins and outs related to the heroes involved – Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Reynolds) and James Howlett aka Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
“For whatever reason, we weren’t allowed to use the name Wolverine in the title,” actor, co-writer and producer Reynolds told Indiewire, noting that he had proposed to the studio head, Kevin Feige, “a dozen, maybe 16” related to Deadpool. films before deciding on the idea they ended up with. Reynolds says he wasn’t sure why some couples weren’t allowed to share billing at first. “I have no idea why, there’s a weird loophole, but at the last minute we changed it to ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ and they passed it off somehow other.”
Shawn Levy, the “Stranger Things” filmmaker who directed “Deadpool & Wolverine” and is among its writers and producers, says negotiations over details like these amount to a “deal” – perhaps linked to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century. Fox assets, including Fox-owned Marvel characters like Deadpool and Wolverine. “A lot of things started with ‘no,’” Levy said. “Not because they were micromanaging, but because the lawyers down the hall said, ‘That’s not part of the deal.'”
Wolverine’s name was not initially mentioned
Levy describes Reynolds and himself as “hopefully respectful hammers” trying to nail down the things they wanted most for the film. “If we felt like something was right for this story, if it had become a must-have, then we were just a little bit relentless,” admits the director. Reynolds says that “often,” decisions like title choice come down to “perseverance.” He also notes that the duo were initially told they couldn’t use the characters from Blade or Gambit, although both would end up appearing in the final film (played by Wesley Snipes and Channing Tatum, respectively). Both men were smart to push those limitations, because just the feeling of getting away with something within a carefully planned, corporate-led franchise like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is what makes “Deadpool & Wolverine “so surprising and memorable.
As for the title, Reynolds says he initially presented several rejected ideas. One of them was a movie called “Deadpool is Hunting” in which “the hunter who shot Bambi’s mother finds [Deadpool]and they fall in love, become like Butch and Sundance.” Another idea was a road trip film starring esteemed actress Margo Martindale, made in the vein of a Sundance independent film, which Reynolds did not mention by name in the interview.
“For a long time the title was ‘Deadpool 3,’ then ‘Deadpool and Friend,'” Levy says. Ultimately, the film was almost called “Deadpool vs. Wolverine,” but Levy says the writers realized in a “late epiphany” that Wade and Logan wouldn’t actually be enemies in the film. “The arc of the storyline is that they are pitted against each other until finally, and frankly, for the audience, satisfyingly, they are brought together,” notes Levy. “So it’s ‘against’ that turns into ‘and’.”
Thus, “Deadpool & Wolverine” was born. The duo of filmmakers won this battle, even if they I lost the war of Mickey Mouse blowjob jokes.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is now streaming on Disney+.
