Ahead of 'Deadpool & Wolverine's release on July 26, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are talking their friendship and their new film.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been friends for nearly two decades, and for that reason, the Deadpool & Wolverine co-stars surely have a lot of things they love about each other.
Sitting down to interview each other for a special edition of "Spilling the E-Tea" in anticipation of Deadpool & Wolverine's release, the actors gushed lovingly about their years-long friendship and shared what reigns supreme as the best thing about their relationship.
"That I could tell you anything," Jackman -- who last played his Marvel character, James "Logan" Howlett (aka Wolverine), in 2017's Logan -- says, adding "I don't think there's [anything I couldn't tell you]."
The Greatest Showman star continues, "I could literally tell you anything and also how I feel both of us -- I'm stealing a little bit 'cause you described this perfectly -- we are genuinely rooting for each other in every aspect of our lives."
"Yes," adds Reynolds -- who similarly reprises his Marvel character, Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool), from the FOX universe for the new movie. "Just how I was thinking as like a hallmark of a truly great friendship are people who are, you know, want to see the other person."
For the best buds -- who seem to have somehow enticed Marvel and Disney into giving them a mega-budget for what will ultimately be a joy ride bromance of a movie (the film's director, Shawn Levy, describes Deadpool & Wolverine as a movie "made by friends about friendship") -- an interview would not be complete without a few jokes.
"And your money, if I could say that," Jackman quips about his other favorite part of their friendship, to which Reynolds responds, "Yes, of course."
The Les Misérables actor adds, "You have a lot of money and if I'm ever short -- which is often -- [you spot me]."
While the movie could probably end up killing it at the box office with just Reynolds and Jackman on the screen, the eponymous heroes (or anti-heroes depending on how the story goes) are not alone. The supporting cast of Deadpool & Wolverine is filled out by newcomers, including Succession and Pride and Prejudice alum Matthew Macfadyen and The Crown's Emma Corrin. Returning actors from the previous Deadpool films include Rob Delaney, Karan Soni and Morena Baccarin.
Just last week, the final Deadpool & Wolverine trailer also confirmed the return of Dafne Keen, who played Laura/X-23 in Logan. While fans have been anticipating appearances from across the multiverse and different timelines -- a major part of the movie's plot follows Deadpool being recruited by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) first introduced in Disney+'s Loki series -- many were surprised to see Keen confirmed in a trailer just a week out from the film's release.
Similarly included in that final teaser is a snippet of Lady Deadpool, a Deadpool variant from the Marvel Comics who is instantly recognizable from the long blonde ponytail emerging from the top of her suit. The appearance set off alarms for fans who have long speculated that Reynolds' wife, Blake Lively, could appear in the film.
Furthermore, fans claiming the Gossip Girl alum -- who has her own film, It Ends With Us, premiering two weeks after Deadpool & Wolverine -- will appear in the Marvel movie had their claims bolstered on Monday when Lively posted photos of herself in red and kissing her hubby on what appears to be the set of his new film.
In their conversation with ET, Jackman and Reynolds responded to the rumors and speculation of guest stars in the film, including fan theories that Taylor Swift will make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut either as Dazzler -- a mutant singer in the Marvel Comics -- or as a one-off appearance as Lady Deadpool.
"The hype behind the secret cameos in this film... there's a lot of hype. What are some of your favorite fan guesses as to who Lady Deadpool could be?" Jackman asks.
"I wouldn't characterize some of these things as cameos as much as I would say surprises," Reynolds shares. "But there have been a lot [of guesses] online about [who she could be]. Everything from Taylor Swift to [...] King Charles."
"As Lady Deadpool?" Jackman questions, to which Reynolds responds, "As Lady Deadpool, yes, exactly. I mean, Lady Deadpool is royalty."
Reynolds adds, "I've seen a lot of them, but like I sort of generated a lot of that, too. I was, you know, I was putting Mickey Mouse in there, holding up a big bag of cash, all kinds of stuff, so yeah. I went out and wrecked the algorithm early on for that."
Despite what can only be described as a myriad of guesses across every social media platform known to mankind, the actors swear (sure, Jan) that no one has guessed the identity of the actress (or actor) who plays Lady Deadpool.
"So far, we're holding on," Jackman says, with Reynolds adding, "So far, nobody seems to have guessed correctly."
We're not saying they're lying, we're just saying that Andrew Garfield laid out the blueprint for how to conceal an appearance in a Marvel film. Notably, Garfield -- who reprised his role as Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) in Marvel's Spider-Man: No Way Home -- consistently lied about not cameoing up until the movie's 2021 release.
Well, whoever ends up being underneath the Lady Deadpool mask, you can be sure that fans will be all too excited to cheer and clap for their appearance. Another thing that fans are applauding in this film: the choice to finally let Jackman's Wolverine wear a comic-accurate yellow and blue Wolverine suit.
Reportedly, it was one of the biggest reasons (aside from Reynolds' involvement, of course) that made the Australia actor decide to reprise his role. As lore has it, Marvel's head honcho, Kevin Feige, got his start in comic-book films back on the X-Men movies of the early 2000s and became good friends with Jackman on set. The first two X-Men films were directed by Bryan Singer, who reportedly banned comic books on set, leading Jackman to sneak away to Feige's office where they would develop a deeper understanding for the character and his backstory.
Sadly, Disney's purchase of FOX and its assets did not finish until 2019, one year after Deadpool 2 released in theaters and two years after Logan came out, which many believed to be the natural ending point for Jackman's character. Spoiler alert: that film ends with his Logan character (at least in that universe) dying. While it was presumed that Feige would likely be unable to bring Jackman's character back, all it took was a little bit of faith, trust and pixie dust (thank you, Disney!) to get Jackman back as the claw-handed mutant. That and the promise of wearing the comic-accurate X-Men suit.
"For the first time ever, we get to see Wolverine in his traditional yellow costume -- how much did you enjoy paying homage to those X-Men roots?" Reynolds asks.
"I absolutely loved it except when I had to urinate. That is an obstacle course," Jackman jokes.
"I bet a lot of people at home -- ET viewers -- didn't know that you urinate," Reynolds shares as Jackman quips, "That's true -- I do, twice a year I do it and it once was in the suit."
Jokes aside, Jackman says, "I can't believe we went so many years thinking, 'Nah, that's never going to work. You can't have a yellow suit for Wolverine.' It so works."
"That first day he put it on and we were standing next to each other, I've never seen a crew -- a hush fall over a crew like that," Reynolds says. "It was a crew in London that is like fourth-generation filmmakers -- I mean, they've been around the block, they've kind of seen everything -- I've never seen anything like that."
Jackman continues, "It's true."
We can only hope that this collab is as epic as their suits. Back in February, during Super Bowl LVIII, Marvel released the first look at the highly anticipated third installment in the Deadpool franchise -- which is the first since the character was acquired from Fox by Disney.
The two-and-a-half-minute trailer shows Deadpool/Wade Wilson and his signature meta-humor, calling out the jump from Fox to Disney in a fourth-wall-breaking moment as he is abducted by the TVA. At the time, Marvel only teased Jackman's appearance, showing shadows of his character before finally revealing his look in another video.
We've come a long way since then as the most recent featurettes from Marvel show more than just Deadpool and Wolverine. It also features their movie's villain, Cassandra Nova (Corrin), their TVA adversary, Mr. Paradox (McFadyen), and their supporting cast of characters who tag along on this superhero buddy road trip film.
Deadpool & Wolverine's official synopsis reads, "Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth, Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy." Outside of that -- and what viewers can piece together from the trailers and teasers -- don't expect much more detail on this film. Disney and Marvel are keeping details (and surprises, as Reynolds calls them) up a sleeve.
Watch one of the latest trailers for Deadpool & Wolverine in the player below:
Deadpool & Wolverine claws its way into theaters on July 26.
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