If you look back at the Deadpool & Wolverine coverage from about a year ago, you won’t see the name of the most famous member of the X-Men in the title. As most recently in December 2023/Film and other media simply evoked the future Highest R-rated film of all time “Deadpool 3.” Why? According to a recent interview Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy did with IndieWireIt all comes down to some tricky legal issues surrounding the heroes involved – Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Reynolds) and James Howlett aka Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
“For some reason we weren’t allowed to use the Wolverine name in the title,” actor, co-writer and producer Reynolds told Indiewire, noting that he had suggested “a dozen, maybe 16” Deadpool-related films to studio head Kevin Feige beforehand they decided on the idea they ultimately came up with. Reynolds says he wasn’t sure why one couple or another wasn’t allowed to split the bills in the beginning. “I wouldn’t know why, some weird loophole, but at the last minute we changed it to ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and they somehow pushed through.”
Shawn Levy, the “Stranger Things” filmmaker who directed “Deadpool & Wolverine” and is one of the writers and producers, says that negotiations over details like this stemmed from a “deal” – possibly related to the acquisition of 20th Century through Disney Fox assets, including Fox-owned Marvel characters such as Deadpool and Wolverine. “A lot of it started with ‘no,'” Levy explained. “Not because they were micromanaging, but because the lawyers down the hall said, ‘That’s not part of the deal.'”
Wolverine’s name was initially off the table
Levy describes Reynolds and himself as “hopefully respectful hammers” trying to nail down the things they wanted most in the film. “When we felt something was right for this story, when it became a must-see, then we were just a little bit adamant,” the director admits. Reynolds says that “often” decisions like choosing a title come down to “persistence.” He also points out that the duo were initially told they couldn’t use the characters “Blade” and “Gambit,” even though both ultimately appear in the final film (played by Wesley Snipes and Channing Tatum, respectively). The pair were smart to push back against these limitations, because the sheer feeling of being able to get away with something in a carefully plotted, business-oriented franchise like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is what makes Deadpool & Wolverine so surprising and memorable.
As for the title, Reynolds says he initially put forward several rejected ideas. One of them was a film called Deadpool is Hunting, in which “the hunter who shot Bambi’s mother finds (Deadpool) and they fall in love and become Butch and Sundance.” Another idea was a road trip film starring esteemed character actress Margo Martindale, shot in the style of a Sundance indie flick whose name Reynolds didn’t mention in the interview.
“The title was ‘Deadpool 3’ for a long time, then it was going to be ‘Deadpool and Friend,'” Levy says. Ultimately, the film was almost called Deadpool vs. Wolverine, but Levy says the writers “realized late in the process” that Wade and Logan wouldn’t actually be enemies in the film. “The arc of the script is that they compete against each other until they are finally – and frankly, satisfactorily for the audience – brought together,” Levy notes. “So it’s ‘versus’ going into ‘and’.”
This is how “Deadpool & Wolverine” was born. The filmmaking duo won this battle, even if they lost the Mickey Mouse fellatio joke war.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now streaming on Disney+.
