Wolverine has always been depicted as a flawed hero, and a man capable of brutal - sometimes indiscriminate - violence when his berserker rage kicks in. James Mangold's Logan found Hugh Jackman's big-screen take on the character at his lowest point, but Deadpool and Wolverine introduces a take on the X-Man that's even more difficult to root for.
In the movie, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) comes across a version of Wolverine that's a shadow of his former self while searching for a variant to replace the "Anchor Being" that died in Logan, and this guy has zero interest in being anything but a boozed-up, volatile asshole - until an encounter with Laura (Dafne Keen) sets him on a different path.
While speaking to the New York Times, director Shawn Levy explained how discussions with Jackman about reprising his iconic role led to the decision to introduce the "worst Wolverine" variant.
"It was Hugh Jackman who unlocked the Wolverine of this movie. A couple months after that fateful phone call in August of 2022 [coming on board], we had a draft of our screenplay and sent it to Hugh. He texted us a 13-minute voice memo, and he’d be the first to admit it was rambling and all over the place, but what it was scratching at was a fundamental question: 'I love the script, guys, but what is it about this Wolverine that makes him undeniable and worthy of this movie?'
The truth is that until Hugh asked that question, we hadn’t properly answered it, and it sent us back to the writing process. That’s what led to the answer that defines this movie: It’s not just a Wolverine, it’s the worst Wolverine. That led to a really juicy investigation of what haunts this antihero such that he deems himself unlovable and unforgivable. That’s really when the movie opened up for us, and if we did our job right, we gave Hugh a chance to play depths and dimensions of Logan that he hadn’t in prior movies."
Of course, Logan ultimately redeems himself, and gets a happy ending along with Laura and the rest of his new friends. Surely not the last we'll see of the Merc With a Mouth's f*cked up new family? We'll just have to wait and see.
Check out a new BTS shot of Jackman in the cowl below.
Have you been to see Deadpool and Wolverine yet? If so, what did you think? Check out our review here, and drop us a comment down below.
The MPAA gave the movie an official R-rating for: "Strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore, and sexual references."
“Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date - Deadpool & Wolverine," reads the new synopsis. "A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. When his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctantlier... reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a reluctant Wolverine to - F*ck. Synopses are so f*cking stupid.”
In addition to Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in the title roles, Deadpool and Wolverine will see Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Rob Delaney (Peter), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead) And Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio) return as their respective characters, and they'll be joined by franchise newcomers Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Matthew Macfadyen (Succession), who will play a TV agent and Charles Xavier's evil counterpart, Cassandra Nova.
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool and Wolverine from a script by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells.