Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds are a match made in heaven. Ever since Hugh Jackman (of all people!) got them in a room together, they’ve been inseparable. The pair have made three films together in short succession, starting with Free Guy and The Adam Project. Their latest, Deadpool & Wolverine, is their magnum opus. The superhero film brings Jackman back into the fold (he and Levy worked together on 2011’s Real Steel), playing Wolverine for the first time in seven years. Deadpool & Wolverine is also set to spark some new energy into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, poised to obliterate the summer box office.
According to Levy, it’s only a taste of what’s to come. “Marvel and I, we really hit it off,” he tells Esquire for the latest episode of “Explain This.” “It’s the kind of bighearted and anthemic filmmaking that I love doing. I love playing in this ultimate sandbox. So I expect Marvel and I aren’t done with each other.”
Though Levy is rumored to be taking over directing duties for the next Avengers film, it’s possible that the filmmaker will pivot in another direction after Deadpool & Wolverine’s inevitable success. We’ll just have to wait and see, but it’s clear that Marvel is planning something major moving forward. Deadpool 4? X-Men?!? No promises. However, it just so happens that the 2024 Comic-Con International Film Festival takes place in San Diego the very same weekend that Deadpool & Wolverine premieres.
“The [Marvel] universe has such love around the world and is such a footprint in our culture,” says Levy. “To work on a movie like Deadpool & Wolverine—and to have a pretty good amount of confidence that people are coming, people are waiting—it’s a lot of pressure. But it’s also the biggest opportunity of my life.”
Elsewhere in the video, Levy talks about his past work on Night at the Museum, directing episodes of Stranger Things, and coating Paul Giamatti head-to-toe in blue paint every day on the Big Fat Liar set.
