Remember back in July 2023 when Ryan Reynolds broke the internet by sharing the first Deadpool & Wolverine on-set photos revealing Hugh Jackman finally rocking Wolverine’s yellow suit? Nearly a year before the blood-soaked and Easter egg-filled adventure hit the 2024 movie schedule, the actor spilled the beans on the long-awaited debut of the comic book-accurate costume – and the motivation behind the image’s release was pretty much a way to stick it to prying eyes on set.
In the commentary track on the Deadpool & Wolverine home release, Reynolds and director Shawn Levy take a minute to talk about shooting at the Pitstone Quarry in England and the challenges that it presented – including paparazzi hiding out on a ridge who wanted to make a quick buck off a behind-the-scenes photo. Not wanting someone else to spoil things for one of the best Marvel movies., Reynolds took matters into his own hands. He says,
In the interest of explaining how some of the sausage gets made from a marketing and PR standpoint, this is the first time we could see a paparazzi up on the ridge taking pictures of us where nobody knew Hugh [Jackman] was going to be in the suit. So, we quickly grabbed our own picture so as to not reward these horrible spoilers and that’s when we just put it out on fucking Instagram.
Shawn Levy, speaking with less Deadpool-like language than his fellow producer/the film’s main star, added that sometimes you have to be flexible, even if it means revealing something that probably wasn’t ready to be revealed:
That hill on the left, it was lined with paparazzi, and as soon as we saw them, we said, ‘Nope, if the world was going to get a first look, it was going to be from us.’ And sometimes, that’s what it takes. You’ve got to be ready to change the plan.
The first look image, which showed up on Reynolds’ Instagram stories and was shared by countless outlets, blogs, and social media users in the hours and days that followed, ended up driving more interest in the film and gave fans even more to look forward to from the then-upcoming Marvel movie.
At the time the first look image was released, we already knew what some of the biggest Deadpool & Wolverine cameos would be, but Reynolds, Levy, and the powers that be at Marvel Studios were able to keep some secrets hidden from prying eyes until the film’s eventual and monumental big-screen debut. And when they couldn’t protect spoilers, even when Reynolds came up with some hilarious search ideas, they found a way to spill the beans on their own terms, which is admirable.
But this isn’t the only great story from the Deadpool & Wolverine commentary, as Reynolds and Levy open up about everything from that great Happy Hogan scene to the surprisingly emotional end credits sequence and so much more.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now available on Digital, and will be released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 22.