Summary

Deadpool 3
was initially planned as a low-budget, talkie-talkie road trip with no special effects.
The addition of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine transformed the project, expanding it into an adventure across the MCU multiverse.

Deadpool & Wolverine
is scheduled to be released later this month, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Marvel star Ryan Reynolds has revealed the stripped-down, low budget comic book movie affair that Deadpool 3 almost was. Before Hugh Jackman decided he would make a triumphant return as Wolverine, Reynolds had planned a sequel with no special effects” that consisted largely of The Merc With a Mouth and his trusted cab driver and friend Dopinder (Karan Soni) on a road trip.

“Literally, it was a $5 or $6 million budget with no special effects. It was just a talkie-talkie road trip with me and [Karan Soni’s character] Dopinder and some of the things we collected and saw along the way. It wasn’t meant to be an event movie. If we’re on our way to Point C, it was meant to just get us to Point B. That was the weirdest one. I liked it. I thought it was kind of fun.”

Expanding further on the original pitch in a conversation with EW, Reynolds revealed that Deadpool 3 would have been “a Rashomon story that had these three different points of view.” Rashamon being the 1950 drama by seminal filmmaker Akira Kurosawa which centers on the mystery of how a samurai was murdered in a forest and explores the witnesses’ different perspectives.

Of course, instead of this far more intimate tale of Deadpool and Dopinder, Deadpool 3 has now transformed into Deadpool & Wolverine, and will see the titular pair embark on an adventure across the multiverse.

Everything Changed When Hugh Jackman Decided to Return as Wolverine

Everything changed for the Deadpool threequel when Hugh Jackman decided to jump aboard, with the X-Men star revealing to EW that he had been thinking about a joint venture with Reynolds since seeing Deadpool 2 in 2018.

“From the moment I saw Deadpool 2… I had literally announced maybe a couple of weeks before that Logan was going to be my last, and I remember watching it and I’m 15 minutes in going, ‘F—!’ I could feel it.”

While Reynolds cracked wise and calls Jackman’s decision “an epiphany masquerading as a midlife crisis,” the Logan actor knew to “obey” his instincts, adding, “You never really know which way they’re going to take you.”

Related How Hugh Jackman’s 25-Year-Old Failed Wolverine Audition Led to a Steak Dinner With Kevin Feige Hugh Jackman recalled how then-producer’s assistant Kevin Feige bought him a meal following his original, disheartening Wolverine audition.

For director Shawn Levy, the addition of Wolverine alongside Deadpool opened up all manner of opportunities, with the filmmaker striving to push the project beyond even the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He said…

“With the character of Wade, especially in combination with the character of Logan, I saw that story beyond the franchise value.”

Directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay he wrote alongside Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells, Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively, alongside Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen.

Deadpool & Wolverine
is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 26, 2024, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.