X-Men Origins: Wolverine introduced Ryan Reynolds' wise-cracking Wade Wilson in 2009, only to majorly f*** up the character by transforming the Merc with the Mouth into "Weapon XI."
20th Century Fox may have teased Deadpool's return in a poorly received post-credits scene, but the chances of them ever making a solo movie featuring the anti-hero were slim...until CG test footage leaked in 2014 during the San Diego Comic-Con.
The studio could no longer ignore the demand from fans and, in 2016, we got the R-Rated Deadpool. However, making the movie presented its fair share of challenges for Reynolds and his cohorts.
"No part of me was thinking when ‘Deadpool’ was finally greenlit that this would be a success," the actor told The New York Times. "I even let go of getting paid to do the movie just to put it back on the screen: They wouldn’t allow my co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on set, so I took the little salary I had left and paid them to be on set with me so we could form a de facto writers room."
"It was a lesson in a couple of senses. I think one of the great enemies of creativity is too much time and money, and that movie had neither time nor money. It really fostered focusing on character over spectacle, which is a little harder to execute in a comic-book movie."
"I was just so invested in every micro-detail of it and I hadn’t felt like that in a long, long time," Reynolds continued. "I remembered wanting to feel that more — not just on ‘Deadpool,’ but on anything."
This isn't the first time we've heard this, of course, as it was way back in 2016 that Reese and Wernick revealed the sacrifice Reynolds made to ensure they could continue working on Deadpool's script. "It was really a core creative team of us, Ryan, and the director Tim Miller. Fox, interestingly, wouldn’t pay for us to be on set," the said. "Ryan Reynolds paid out of his own money, out of his own pocket."
They were the only credited writers on Deadpool, though Reynolds earned a co-writer nod on Deadpool 2 two years later. The trio has since reunited on Deadpool & Wolverine, though were joined by comic book writer Zeb Wells and director Shawn Levy.
You may recall that Fox also pulled the rug out from under Tim Miller and Reynolds' feet when they scrapped a huge action sequence at the last minute (which is alluded to when the Merc leaves his weapons in Dopinder's taxi).
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. The movie is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.
The trades have confirmed that Jennifer Garner will reprise her role as Elektra, with Wesley Snipes, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Dafne Keen, Channing Tatum, Blake Lively, singer Taylor Swift, and even a Hulk now among those rumoured or expected to make an appearance.
Kevin Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers.
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26.