Marvel decided to release fewer projects in a year to make up for its latest box office failures caused by ‘superhero fatigue.’ But there’s still pressure on ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ to revive the studio to its former glory ahead of its premiere.
Director Shawn Levy commented on the expectations in a recent chat with Total Film:
“We had no idea it would be this unique moment where people are asking what the MCU means anymore. Can it surprise us? Can it break molds in ways that we don’t expect? We certainly hope that this movie is an answer to those questions.”
He added:
“What Kevin Feige has built with the MCU is historic as far as a string of successes, but culture has its tide chart, culture has ebbs and flows, and one thing we do know is you can’t keep doing the same thing ad nauseum and expect people to greet it with the same excitement. And so, it just worked out really fortuitously because our movie is not like any MCU movie. Yeah, and I say that as a fan of a lot of MCU movies.”
What To Expect From The Upcoming MCU Film?
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is expected to open with a $500 million worldwide revenue thanks to a simultaneous release in China. But Levy’s focus is on the film’s quality rather than the box office:
“I would love to take credit for those parallels. Some we absolutely intend, but some are coincidences, and we came up with ‘Marvel Jesus’ two years ago. People love to get on bandwagons whether they’re positive, but frankly even more when they’re negative.”
The director previously also confirmed that the audience will not have to watch the old Marvel projects to keep up with the upcoming movie. He told the Associated Press:
“I very much made this film with certainly a healthy respect and gratitude towards the rabid fan base that has peak fluency in the mythology and lore of these characters and this world. But I didn’t want to presume that. This movie is built for entertainment, with no obligation to come prepared with prior research.”
X-Men And Deadpool Team Are Making A Comeback
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ reunited Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the titular characters for the first time since 2009’s ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine.’ Reynolds also joined Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy in the writers’ room.
The film brought back Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, and Leslie Uggams from previous ‘Deadpool’ films, but Josh Brolin’s Cable didn’t join them. Brolin said on the matter:
“[Marvel] is a more complex labyrinth than ‘Outer Range’ will ever be, my friend, and I will never know where that went or what that is or what I’m involved with or what I’m not involved with—the MCU being involved now. Cable was a lot of fun. I really liked doing that role. That was a lot of fun.”
The cast also listed returning X-Men actors including Aaron Stanford as Pyro and Jennifer Garner as Elektra. The release date is July 26.
