Screenwriter Michael Green has broken his silence on the controversial opening sequence in 'Deadpool and Wolverine', admitting he received a heads up before the movie's release.
- August 17, 2024
AceShowbiz - Screenwriter Michael Green, who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated Wolverine standalone movie "Logan," recently shared his thoughts on "Deadpool & Wolverine," addressing the film's provocative handling of Wolverine's demise.
"Logan" served as Hugh Jackman's poignant farewell to the role he had inhabited for nearly two decades. However, when Marvel Studios and Ryan Reynolds decided to forge ahead with a crossover in a third Deadpool installment, tentatively titled "Deadpool & Wolverine," they found a way to bring Jackman back without undoing the emotional finale of "Logan."
The film opens with Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, digging up the skeleton of Logan- a gory spectacle set to NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." Green shared his reaction to this scene in an interview with IGN, noting how apprehensive friends had warned him about it.
"People had warned me ahead of time, 'Uh, I don't know how you're gonna feel about the opening [of Deadpool & Wolverine],' " he said. "I'm like, 'I think I know what's gonna happen.' And I did not know! I didn't know they were gonna go that far."
Green stressed that the scene wasn't meant to be taken seriously, "You weren't meant to take seriously that they were, like, digging him up, and that it was really him. It felt less like they were trying to change the ending of 'Logan' as they were contending with not feeling that they wanted to make a movie as good as they felt 'Logan' was, which is a huge compliment! I felt like it was nothing but complimentary."
Fans have embraced the film with enthusiasm, cheering in theaters at nearly every irreverent joke and action sequence. "When we saw it in a full theater, people went bananas to everything. It's great. It's a great franchise, like, more, please!" Green exclaimed. Notably, the film mercifully avoided taking jabs at another of Green's projects, "Green Lantern," a movie widely panned by critics and fans alike.
Marvel Studios' head, Kevin Feige, also shared concerns about undoing the impactful ending of "Logan," even advising Jackman against returning. Yet, thanks to the Marvel universe's capacity for time travel and alternate timelines, Jackman could reprise his role without disrupting "Logan's" unforgettable conclusion.
In "Deadpool & Wolverine," the rogue mercenary and the inexorable mutant form an unlikely alliance, facing off against a variety of foes, including TVA agents and familiar adversaries from the Marvel lore. The film grossed over $1 billion and became a meme-generator, injecting much-needed humor and chaos into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Looking ahead, fans can anticipate more inter-dimensional antics as Deadpool and Wolverine are expected to return in upcoming films like "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." As for Green, he wears his involvement in the "Green Lantern" film with a badge of honor, appreciating the restraint shown by "Deadpool & Wolverine" in not taking any potshots at his earlier work.