Bringing Deadpool & Wolverine home to Canada 'just feels right' for Montreal-born director Shawn Levy
Hugh Jackman says it was a 'dream come true' to play Wolverine again as Marvel movie premieres in Toronto
One of the most anticipated blockbusters of the summer made its Canadian premiere in Toronto Tuesday, as Marvel rolled out the red (and yellow) carpet for Deadpool & Wolverine.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, longtime pals and stars of the film, were joined by director Shawn Levy as they took over Scotiabank Theatre to meet fans and unleash their R-rated humour onto Canadian screens for the first time, ahead of the movie's release.
Fans of the franchise, who were decked out in costumes, cheered "Thank you!" and screamed as the stars signed autographs and took selfies.
"Welcome to Toronto, Hugh," one fan shouted as Jackman crossed the room.
Canadian heroes 'draped in maple syrup'
On the red carpet, both stars and their director shared why it's so important for the movie's Canadian identity to shine.
"They're Canadian," Reynolds told CBC News. "They're Canadian characters! What an opportunity to have two hugely iconic superheroes enter the MCU and do it draped in maple syrup."
According to the characters' origins, both Deadpool and Wolverine are Canadian, with Deadpool, a.k.a. Wade Wilson, hailing from Regina, while Wolverine, a.k.a. Logan, was born in northern Alberta near the town of Cold Lake.
Not only are Reynolds, from Vancouver, and Levy, from Montreal, coming home to Canada for the premiere, but the film also brings Jackman's character back to his roots by putting him in the iconic blue and yellow suit the character wears in the comics.
Jackman began playing Wolverine in the 2000 movie X-Men, and held the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel character" until 2017's Logan, which he thought was the last time he would play the role.
That is, until he heard Reynolds and Levy were working on a third Deadpool movie. He called to let them know he wanted back in.
"I love this character, but I've never loved it more than this," said Jackman, noting that Reynolds, who is also a writer and producer on the film, is one of the few actors whose advice on how to improve he's genuinely open to.
"As friends, we push each other, so both of us know these characters intimately, we can drop in, but then we can play, we can move and we can go places. It was a dream come true."
Coming to Canada 'just feels right': director
"I don't know that I can think of a mainstream event movie tent-pole that is more Canadian than Deadpool & Wolverine," Levy told CBC News on the red carpet. "So it feels great."
He said that from the very beginning, they told Disney and Marvel that they would "travel all over the world talking to this movie, but we're coming to Canada.' "
"And it just feels right."
The director, known for family-friendly films like Night at the Museum and Cheaper by the Dozen, and who is also the producer of Netflix series Stranger Things, says stepping into the Marvel world comes with expectations, but joining the franchise didn't mean he'd lose his personal touch.
Levy said that from the very beginning, Reynolds and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made it clear to him that they wanted Deadpool & Wolverine to be funny and have spectacle, but that it should also be a Shawn Levy movie.
"There's a big beating heart at the centre of this movie and I think that's what makes it a me movie," he said.
Deadpool & Wolverine, the only film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that's set to be released this year, is expected to break records and unseat the original Deadpool's $132.4 million opening. Deadline is projecting that the film will rake in over a billion dollars, with an opening weekend estimate of $160 million.
Deadpool & Wolverine is set to be released in theatres on July 26.
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with files from Eli Glasner and Teghan Beaudette