Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are set to star in one of the most highly anticipated blockbusters next month, but it almost didn’t happen. During an interview with Vanity Fair, the film’s director, Shawn Levy, said he and Reynolds struggled to come up with a storyline for the next Deadpool movie.
“Ryan and I were right at the edge of saying to Kevin, ‘You know what? Maybe now is not the right moment because we’re not coming up with a story,’” Levy explained.
“And that is the moment when Ryan’s phone rang, and it was Hugh calling from his car.”
However, things changed when Hugh Jackman finished up his run on Broadway’s The Music Man. While enjoying a much needed vacation, Jackman got the spark he needed and generated the idea for the movie. “Deadpool-Wolverine. I want to do that movie,” he thought.
“On the Zoom with Kevin, we just cut right to the fucking chase,” Reynolds told Vanity Fair.
“We said, ‘Look, this call just came in. I feel like we’d be idiots to look this gift horse in the mouth and ignore it. This is a one-in-a-billion chance. I really feel like this is what we’ve been looking for.’”
Despite wrapping up the story of Wolverine in Logan, Jackman felt this movie would give him an opportunity to explore a different side to the character. Two years after committing to reprising the character and shooting the movie, he appears happier than ever with the experience.
“And I’d be sharing it with Ryan and Shawn, who are two of my best friends,” Jackman continued.
“The three of us together are like the Three Amigos. There was not a day where I wasn’t in tears laughing. I felt so rejuvenated playing the part. I mean, I’m 25 years in, man, and it feels better than ever.”
The product of their friendship, Deadpool & Wolverine, will hit theaters on Friday, July 26.
