Why director Shawn Levy says ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is not ‘Deadpool 3’

Deadpool vs. Wolverine doesn’t come out until July 26, but even back in December, Fandango users voted it as their most anticipated movie of 2024.

Rumblings about the movie’s showcase at last week’s CinemaCon only added fuel to the fire, and there, its director, Shawn Levy, weighed in to Screen Rant about what the film is — and what it’s not.

“It’s the third Deadpool movie, but it’s not Deadpool 3,” says the veteran of Free Guy. “It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool and Wolverine,” he explains, “and it’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.”

A “two-hander” is Hollywood-speak for what most people know as a “buddy movie,” like ’80s classics Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours, the latter of which Levy has previously compared to his new movie. Instead of Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte, however, he has Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Levy explains, “I just felt privileged every day because you’re talking about two massive movie stars in their most iconic roles.”

The filmmaker adds of the R-rated film — a Marvel Studios first — “I’ll tell you that the guiding thought in crafting the movie was audience joy. That was always the North Star. Yeah, it’s going to be gnarly. Yeah, it’s gonna be funny. That’s a given. But we wanted to build a great time at the theater for audiences, and that’s our goal.”

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