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“It’s only nine people, but my entire world is in this picture.” These are a few of the words uttered by Ryan Reynolds’ forever-chatty Wade Wilson in the final Deadpool & Wolverine trailer. While the sizzle reel took the internet by storm Friday morning because of its strategic reveal of another beloved character cameo from X-Men movies past, what caught us most by surprise was how earnest, and even hoarse, Reynolds sounded as he pleaded with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to help him save his family. Deadpool might be the Merc with the Mouth, but in this scene he definitely wasn’t talking out the side of it.
Then again, one of the things about the first two Deadpool movies—particularly the earlier one—is how unexpectedly earnest they could really be. The first film really was the (raunchy) romantic comedy to beat during Valentine’s Day 2016. And it got us wondering as we headed into an interview with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige if Deadpool & Wolverine has an emotional through-line just as important when you move past all the superhero movie easter eggs and dick jokes.
“It was extremely important to all of us, especially to Ryan and to Hugh and to Shawn [Levy],” Feige says while also referring to Deadpool 3’s director. “You’re absolutely right and the first person who’s pointed out that beyond the R-rated crude jokes, and that [type of] fun, that in both of the other Deadpool movies, and I think particularly in this one as well, there is an emotional core to the character. And as you saw in the [final trailer], very much of this movie is about Deadpool saying ‘am I tired of my own shtick?’”
Feige goes on to say that Deadpool & Wolverine is about Wade Wilson beginning to “reflect on his life in this movie,” and taking stock about the choices he’s made and the persona he’s put out in the world—which perhaps will contrast all the more with a Wolverine filled with regret.
“[It] is a very emotional thing for any movie character to go through,” Feige continues. “So I think that was always, believe it or not, much more important to everybody involved than the jokes. The jokes come naturally to Ryan and to the screenwriters, and they sprinkle them in as needed—which is a lot—but it is that emotional core, which you’re absolutely right is the key to this movie, and what I’m most excited about people seeing. Because other than the [trailer] today, clearly the humor and the edginess is what’s at the forefront. But the takeaway from the movie will be exactly that; it will be the core of how emotional and moving the story is.”
A more grounded narrative with stakes that are as local as “nine people”—versus however many billions Thanos, the Kree, or whoever else threatens in most MCU movies—has obviously been a mission statement for Deadpool & Wolverine. After all, the first two Deadpool flicks were about Wade’s relationship with the love of his life and a surrogate son. And the way Feige spoke about the development process on Deadpool 3 suggests the filmmakers went out of their way to keep things localized despite the film’s apparent universe-altering multiversal setup.
“We had been very lucky over the years that our success meant there weren’t a lot of limitations given to us,” Feige explains, “but we have since started self-imposing limitations for just that reason, including on Deadpool & Wolverine. Let’s figure out how to find the more clever way, the more meaningful way, the more emotional way to do something while still keeping the spectacle.”
Audiences will find out exactly what that looks like soon when Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters on Friday, July 26. Meanwhile, be sure to check back at Den of Geek in a few days for more of our conversation with Kevin Feige.
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