“I don’t know anyone more thoughtful, kind and classy than this man,” Reynolds says of his Marvel co-star.
Amid all the self-referential meta-commentary and breaking the fourth wall in Deadpool & Wolverine, it was Ryan Reynolds praising Hugh Jackman when his foul-mouthed merc told the Logan variant: “You’re the best Wolverine.” With Marvel Studios’ first R-rated movie becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time over the weekend with a global box office of $1.14 billion, Reynolds — who spent years coaxing Jackman out of superhero retirement after the X-Men star hung up the claws in 2017’s Logan — gushed over the Wolverine actor as “THE X-Man” in an appreciative social media post.
“On August 14th, 2022, @RealHughJackman stopped his car to call me. He’d been having a crappy week… he’d had the flu, two flat tires and some random idiot egged his house. But what happened next, happened fast. He told me he wanted to bring The Wolverine back,” Reynolds shared on X. “Months later, he not only brought Wolvie back into the light, he’d at long last, wear the iconic yellow suit.”
On August 14th, 2022, @RealHughJackman stopped his car to call me.
He’d been having a crappy week… he’d had the flu, two flat tires and some random idiot egged his house. But what happened next, happened fast. He told me he wanted to bring The Wolverine back.
Months later,… pic.twitter.com/FgYQjxmSkA
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 18, 2024
Reynolds and director Shawn Levy, who developed Deadpool 3 under Marvel Studios following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, “were feeling a ton of pressure, worrying about how we walk these characters into the MCU,” he continued, “worrying about all of our secret characters STAYING secret — along with so many moving parts. But when Hugh stepped onto set in THAT SUIT… everyone knew something special was happening. I remember thinking everything was gonna be okay.”
15 years after Reynolds starred opposite Jackman in 2009’s Fox-made X-Men Origins: Wolverine — and more than 20 years after Jackman first suited up in black leather as the razor-clawed mutant in 2000’s X-Men — the pair joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, clad in comic-accurate suits at the request of Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige.
“For months of filming and what felt like 100 years of editing and post production, I had a front row seat to WOLVERINE. Watching and learning from my friend and favourite actor,” Reynolds continued. “Two things can be true: 1) Sometimes I eat too much sugar, and secretly egg his house so I can feel something. And 2) I can be both a fan and friend, simultaneously.”
Reynolds recalled meeting Jackman at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney on the set of the X-Men spinoff, an origin story for Jackman’s Wolverine. “Back then he was already a movie star and I walked onto set a supporting actor,” Reynolds remembered. “Showing up midway through production isn’t too different to starting a new school. I was a nervous mess. Film sets can have a scary imbalance of power and I remember seeing how he treated every member of the crew with genuine respect and appreciation. He made a case that the term ‘filmmaker’ isn’t just for people with their name on the poster.”
“I don’t know anyone more thoughtful, kind and classy than this man. He’ll do anything for someone he loves. He’ll do anything for someone he just met,” Reynolds continued. “In Deadpool & Wolverine Hugh didn’t just make dreams come true for fans of Wolverine. He made MY dreams come true too. He is THE X-Man.”
The actor and producer concluded the post with the hashtag “#TilYoure90,” referring to the moment Reynolds’ Wade Wilson says of Jackman’s Wolverine variant: “Fox killed him. Disney brought him back. They’re gonna make him do this ’til he’s 90.”
Deadpool & Wolverine also served as a sendoff for the pre-MCU era of Marvel movies, including the Wesley Snipes Blade trilogy, Jennifer Garner’s sais-wielding assassin from 2003’s Daredevil and 2005’s Elektra, the Chris Evans-starring Fantastic Four films, and Channing Tatum’s unmade X-Men spinoff movie Gambit.
