Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy Explain They Released the First Image of Deadpool and Wolverine to Stick It to the Paparazzi
Remember back in the day when you could go see a movie that you were excited about, and everything that happened in that movie was a total surprise? It’s not like that anymore.
Marvel movies are especially notorious for getting spoiled, as the internet is just too big an animal for anyone to tame, and once a photo or a piece of info get out, you just can’t unring that bell.
But some actors and filmmakers are saying “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” when it comes to spoilers. At least that’s what Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy did. They originally wanted to keep star Hugh Jackman’s comic-accurate costume under wraps for much longer, and release the surprise on their terms, but with meddling paparazzi in the mix, their cover was bound to get blown, so they took matters into their own hands.
In the commentary track on the Deadpool & Wolverine home release (via CinemaBlend), Reynolds and 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 most anticipated Marvel movies in years, the pair convened and made a decision. Reynolds explained:
“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.”
They just did it on their terms, which is admirable. Levy went on to add about the photo:
“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.”
That photo broke the internet, and it got fans super pumped for the film. Of course, some of the movie’s secrets were speculated, spoiled, or guessed along the way, but there were others that remained awesome surprises! And even the stuff we had hunches about turned out to be way cooler that we could have guessed. Deadpool & Wolverine was a great time at the movies, and you can enjoy it again when it’s released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 22. It’s available on Digital now.