This could’ve been much, much longer. As I rewatched Deadpool & Wolverine with commentary from star Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy, I never stopped taking notes. The pair had so much to say about the movie, so much detail to point out, so much insight to provide, that it was overwhelming. But, out of the maybe 100 or so points I ended up scribbling down, I whittled those down to the best of the best. Here they are.
Marvel Studios logo battle
Reynolds pointed out that characters usually don’t get to be in the Marvel Studios logo until their second movie, so he had to beg to get Deadpool in there. Also, the idea of Deadpool humming the theme music came during the editing and was added in very late.
Loganpool
Deadpool & Wolverine is filled with lots of recognizable songs, many of which were on a playlist Reynolds had on his phone labeled “Loganpool.” It’s a list he’d add songs to that he felt might fit in the movie, and “Bye Bye Bye” by NSync was among them.
Skeleton error
Speaking about Logan’s skeleton, Reynolds admits they made a mistake because teeth are bone so they should also be adamantium, but they aren’t. And he regrets it.
The first Blake Lively joke
Throughout the film, there are many jokes about Ryan Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively. The first is one where Deadpool says he has an extra bone in his body when he watches Gossip Girl—a Lively show—which Reynolds says he wrote himself and had to google how many bones are in the human body.
Les Miserables
Arguably the hardest-to-find Easter egg in the film happens during the opening credits. When the skull flies toward the camera on the credit for “Visual Effects Producer Lisa Marra,” on the upper palette of the mouth are the numbers “24601,” a reference to Hugh Jackman’s role in the musical Les Miserables.
Almost Tony Stark
Reynolds and Levy said they probably wrote 65 different versions of the scene with Happy Hogan. Some had Tony Stark in them, some had Nick Fury, they just weren’t sure who would be available. Once they filmed it with Jon Favreau though, they realized it made more sense for Wade to meet a lower-level person from the MCU’s origins, not someone particularly important, so they never revised it.
Wade and Vanessa
In other versions of Deadpool & Wolverine, Wade and Vanessa were still together. But, ultimately they settled on them being broken up to add a new dynamic to the relationship and make it clear just how depressed Wade is.
Why is Thor crying?
It’s unclear when Reynolds and Levy recorded this commentary—but whenever it was, the pair admit they didn’t know why Thor was crying but put it in there anyway so that later, when someone else answers it, they can claim intentionality.
So many practical sets
Much of the commentary spends time geeking out over all the practical sets and effects in Deadpool & Wolverine. This starts in the TVA sets which aren’t just real, all the monitors work too. So all the graphics on the monitors are actually playing. I won’t mention everything in this article but the list is longer and more surprising than you expect of what’s real and not.
Wade’s makeup
At one point, Reynolds and Levy say someone suggested the film did the scarred Wade makeup via CGI. This, apparently, would’ve been cheaper and faster than the practical mask Reynolds wears but they said no.
The Cavillrene
Henry Cavill’s cameo as the Cavillrene was the first day of filming on Deadpool & Wolverine.
Another Wrexham cameo
We all know that Paul Mullin, a striker on Ryan Reynolds’ soccer team Wrexham FC, cameos at the end of the film as Welshpool. But apparently another player, Ollie Palmer, also cameos in the background of the bar scene where we first meet Jackman’s Logan. That was Jackman’s first day of filming.
Canada’s Ass
Captain America being told he has “America’s ass” in the MCU is one of its most famous moments. Deadpool & Wolverine almost poked fun at it by calling Logan’s rear end “Canada’s ass” when he’s dragged into the TVA, but it was cut.
The worst Wolverine of all
After reading an early draft of Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman asked Reynolds and Levy “Why is it this Logan? What makes him so special?” The note made them rewrite the entire movie, making him the worst Wolverine and allowing Jackman to explore a version of the character he’d never played before.
That first promo shot
Since so much of Deadpool & Wolverine was filmed out in the open, the cast and crew often saw paparazzi off in the distance taking photos. This happened the day the stars were scheduled to fight each other in the Void and, to avoid everyone’s first look at the new Wolverine costume coming from the paparazzi, the team snapped that first official image that was released online right before shooting. Here it is.
Baby knife
The running gag of Deadpool calling out “Baby knife!” every time he uses his small knife was a wink to his kids who, apparently, were doing that at home.
Johnny Storm’s return
The idea to bring back Chris Evans not as Captain America, but Johnny Storm, was one co-writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese pitched even before Hugh Jackman was on board.
Two days of Evans
Evans, being the busy actor he is, was only able to film two days on Deadpool & Wolverine. So everything you see with him in the movie was just in two days. Also of note, after he dies and Deadpool says “Not my favorite Chris,” Evans thought it would be delivered as a sad plea: “Not my favorite Chris!” It wasn’t until they were on set and Reynolds delivered it as a dismissive aside that Evans was in on the joke.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Once they escape Cassandra, Deadpool & Wolverine walk by the car and trunk from John Hughes’ Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a film hugely influential on this one.
Dogpool
Dogpool, one of the film’s breakout stars, was captured almost entirely in camera. Only one CGI addition was made and that was his “ear huggie,” which matches his owner, Nicepool. They didn’t want to put an earring on a dog.
Salmon paste
The filmmakers were able to get Dogpool to keep licking Reynolds during the film by putting salmon paste in his mouth. Reynolds jokes that he can still taste it.
The new Deadpool costume
Settling on a design for a new Deadpool costume was hard. At a certain point, Levy and Reynolds were out of ideas, looked at the costume Nicepool was wearing, and thought “Why don’t we just steal and use that for Deadpool?” But they thought better of it.
Honda Odyssey
One of the reasons Deadpool & Wolverine has a Honda Odyssey in it so prominently is that Levy himself owns one and nicknamed it Betsy, just like in the movie.
So many Marvel Easter eggs
Once Deadpool & Wolverine reach the hideout with the other characters, Levy and Reynolds point out a ton of Marvel Easter eggs. Hulk’s bed from Thor: Ragnarok is in there. Design elements match Doctor Strange 2. And this carries into other scenes as well, such as Strange’s cloak can be seen on Cassandra Nova’s throne later in the film.
Dealing with the laughs
During the edit, Marvel executives suggested maybe adding some space for laughs to breathe in the scene at the hideout. They were worried people would miss too much. Levy and Reynolds, however, said no. The pacing was crucial and if people missed anything, maybe it would encourage them to go back.
A smart deleted scene
When Logan and X-23 have the heart-to-heart at the campfire, originally, Deadpool interrupted saying he was making s’mores for Blade. The scene was in the movie but, ultimately, cut, because it took away from the emotion of the moment.
Drone attacks
Since so much of the film was shot outside, including the big battle with all the heroes who were being kept secret, the crew had special protocols in place in case someone saw a drone. This included running and hiding.
Giant Sized Ant-Man
The idea for Cassandra Nova’s lair to be a giant Ant-Man was from co-writer Zeb Wells. Early on, all the writers divided the script up to work on specific pieces and once everyone else read the idea, it never changed.
Marvel sparkle circles
During production, Reynolds coined the phrase “Marvel sparkle circles” which, he proudly admitted, now even Marvel president Kevin Feige uses.
Wolverine’s mask
Levy and Reynolds wanted to treat Wolverine’s mask very seriously but, at one point, there was a joke in there that undercut it. Kevin Feige noted that the joke didn’t work, Levy and Reynolds agreed, and it was changed to the joke about Batman with a working neck, which was funny but more respectful.
Reshoots
On a movie of this size, there could be days or weeks of reshoots. But that wasn’t the case here. There was only a day and a half of reshoots with the most important bit being Paradox’s speech at the end. Originally, Wolverine and Deadpool reemerged immediately after saving the timeline but Blake Lively suggested there should be more suspense about whether they survived or not. So they wrote this speech, shot it, and it lets the audience sit for a few more seconds waiting to see if the heroes survived.
Green Day
The use of “Time of Your Life” by Green Day for the end credit Fox montage was locked in early but, after release, Reynolds wanted to call the band’s lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, to thank him. The call came just as the entire band was leaving a movie theater having just seen the film.
And, again, that’s just a few. There’s much more if you listen to the commentary, which you can do right here.
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