“Deadpool & Wolverine” may have finally been released in theaters, but stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman saved their biggest press tour stop for last.
The pair rolled into San Diego Comic-Con, alongside co-star Emma Corrin, director Shawn Levy and Marvel chief Kevin Feige to present the Hall H audience with a surprise screening of the film on the same day that it hits the big screen around the world. Warning: spoiler-talk below.
The special event, dubbed “The Ultimate Deadpool & Wolverine Celebration of Life,” came at the end of a particularly busy day for Reynolds, Jackman and Levy, who jetted to San Diego from Los Angeles following Feige’s Walk of Fame Ceremony earlier in the day.
The quitet took the stage one-by-one as if it were a normal Comic-Con panel, with Reynolds reminiscing about his first trip to Comic-Con with the original “Deadpool” movie.
“I was the most nervous human being you would ever see,” Reynolds said. “I was stepping into a dream come true in a certain sense, but I remember making that movie for you, and I remember how gratifying it was that everyone else liked it too.”
He continued: “I feel like I was able to connect with you in a way that I’d really kind of been yearning to connect.And I’ll never forget this moment, because this asshole was backstage…” he added, nodding to Jackman, who chimed in to finish the story.
“I was standing just over there,” Jackman began. “I watched the footage and there was this chant that started up: ‘One more time, one more time.’ I ran backstage and I found that the stage manager, and I said, ‘Play the footage again. If you don’t play the fucking footage again, they are going to tear Hall H to the ground.’”
Then, after conjuring up those happy memories, Reynolds cued up a clip of co-star Leslie Uggams (in character as Blind Al) saying, “Can we skip the bullshit and just show the damn movie?”
The crowd (a full house of 6,500) erupted at the announcement and suddenly the souvenirs they’d been awarded for lining up outside Hall H — those highly-coveted (and hilariously sexual) Wolverine-head popcorn buckets — made even more sense. As the lights went down in the auditorium-turned- makeshift movie theater, ushers passed around popcorn and Reynolds, Jackman, Feige and co. settled into the folding chairs in the audience.
Throughout the 2-hour runtime, the crowd reacted raucously to all the major moments, but especially the Easter eggs and in-jokes. However, nothing played more electrically than the movie’s surprise cameos. With each reveal, the audience erupted into cheers which painted a huge grin on Feige’s face as he took it all in.
After the credits rolled, the cast returned. Reynolds, who seemed visibly moved by the experience, said it was an “emotional honor and a privilege to be standing up here next to the X-Man (Jackman).”
Jackman called watching this film with all of Hall H one of the most incredible experiences of his life. “It’s been 24 years since I first played Wolverine,” he said, profusely thanking Levy and Reynolds for creating the conditions to do it again.
But the duo didn’t want to celebrate alone and invited the entire spoiler-rific cameo cast on stage, including Dafne Keen, Jennifer Garner, Channing Tatum, Wesley Snipes, and Chris Evans (who Reynolds made sure to intro as Human Torch, specifically).
The “Deadpool & Wolverine” celebration is the first of two Hall H takeovers from Marvel Studios. Following the screening, the studio staged a 10-minute drone and fireworks show over Petco Park, with formations of Deadpool and Wolverine, as well as a tease of what’s to come when Feige take the stage again on Saturday. (If you read between the flashing lights, expect major updates on “The Fantastic Four.”)
But for now, Marvel’s focus is on “Deadpool & Wolverine” — which also stars Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni and Matthew Macfadyen. Early projections show the superhero threequel breaking records at the box office, earning between $160 million to $170 million from 4,200 North American theaters, and topping 2016’s “Deadpool” (which opened to $132 million) as the new titleholder. However, buzz around the film (especially talk of surprise cameos) could propel the three-day tally to $190 to $200 million. (Disney spent about $200 million to produce and roughly another $100 million to promote the movie.)
Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produced the film with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, George Dewey, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Simon Kinberg serving as executive producers. “Deadpool & Wolverine” is written by Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells and Levy.