Kevin Feige on Deadpool & Wolverine: Addressing ‘Lofty Expectations,’ Making Fun of the MCU, and All the Cocaine Talk

When Deadpool & Wolverine debuts later tonight, it’ll come alongside quite a bit of pressure.

The once-incredibly reliable Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen its fair share of struggle in the time since the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, with mixed reviews and disappointing box office returns for films like The Marvels. As Disney CEO Bob Iger has vowed to pull back on some of Marvel’s output, Deadpool & Wolverine is the only offering from the studio to head to the big screen this year.

But perhaps Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth is just the character to burst into the MCU at this moment in time. IGN talked to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige after watching the first 35 minutes of Deadpool & Wolverine last week, during which Deadpool himself directly comments on the perceived dip in quality the MCU has taken in the days after Avengers: Endgame. So of course, we had to ask: how does Feige feel about that discourse, now that they’re addressing it right there in the film?

Below, IGN’s Benny Watts talks to Feige about that, why Deadpool & Wolverine feels like a mid-phase reset, the R-rating, all that cocaine talk, and more.

Deadpool & Wolverine releases in theaters tonight.IGN: Deadpool & Wolverine almost like a mid-phase reset. So I want to ask, why are Deadpool and Wolverine the characters to do it?

Kevin Feige: I hadn’t heard it put that way before – mid-phase reset. I like that. I think that’s pretty cool, and I think a lot of that, like everyone else in life, comes down to timing. It is timing that Disney acquired Fox, that we got the rights to the characters, that we’ve had meetings with Ryan on and off, trying to figure out what would be the best storyline for a third Deadpool, for the first Deadpool within Marvel Studios. And the greatest bit of timing, as I’m sure you’ve heard, is when Hugh called Ryan and said “I’d like to come back.” Because if that call had come a year from now or three years before, I’m not sure – I mean, I am sure it wouldn’t have been as much of a slam dunk as it was in the exact moment when he called, which was the exact same time we brought Shawn on board to direct and we were trying to crack the movie. And there were a lot of great elements that ended up in the movie people will see, but there was just something missing and we were about to say, let’s slow down, retool, and figure out what was missing, when Hugh called and said, “I’m missing.”

I’ve only seen the first 35 minutes, but there are jokes in the movie that reference a cultural conversation about the quality of the MCU post-Endgame, and it seems that this movie is willing to get involved in that dialogue. So I want to ask, how do you feel about the MCU’s perceived quality and the particular fan perspective that things may have not lived up to the expectations?

Feige: Well, I think when the expectations are “biggest movie of all time,” those are pretty lofty expectations. At least we were the biggest movie briefly, before Avatar was re-released. But they’re high bars, and there’s a dichotomy at Marvel Studios where we like being the underdog and we like exceeding expectations. But we also like setting the bar higher than the bar’s ever been set before. Those are two things that are hard to keep navigating over the years.

The great thing about Deadpool is he’ll just directly talk about all of it. And if you ever find yourself saying, “It’s okay if Deadpool makes fun of a lot of things, but don’t make fun of me,” you’re not a cool guy. You’re not a fun person. I’ve always said, “Who does Deadpool make fun of the most? Ryan Reynolds.” Deadpool makes fun of Ryan Reynolds all the time. So I think it is an honor that he now gets to poke fun at us and at Marvel.

I think along those lines of where you find this getting made fun of, I’m interested in, were there any guidelines that you gave to the creative team to say, “this is the line? We love it, this is great, but there is a limit on how far can you go”?

Feige: Shawn and Ryan know what that line is, know inherently what that line is. Ryan probably more than anyone because even though there’s the F-bombs, and even though there’s blood spurting with claws and katanas, there is a core decency and heart to the movie and to the characters. Ryan is the great arbiter of that.

“There’s a dichotomy at Marvel Studios where we like being the underdog and we like exceeding expectations.

He put it very well at one point saying, “Deadpool always punches up. You can punch up as much as you want. Never punch down.” He’s never mean-spirited or mean-hearted, because that’s not funny. So actually, he knows where that line is.

There really wasn’t anything that we had to step in and go, “Now you’ve gone too far. The studio is locking down.” There was a comment I had made at one point that I thought the cocaine jokes in the first few Deadpool movies were sort of old or felt like some sort of old ‘70s drug movie. It seemed dated to me. Ryan of course took that and reinterpreted it into “studio mandate, no cocaine,” and turned it into fresh, funny cocaine jokes.

I’ve never talked about cocaine as much in my entire life as I have in this junket, so I appreciate it. You didn’t bring it up. I brought it up. I know.

Shawn has said that Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t part of any MCU phase that he’s aware of. Does this mean that MCU films don’t always have to be a part of the “phases” structure? Is the MCU phasing out phases?

Feige: Phasing out phases? No, I mean phases have always simply been the point in time in which the project’s made, and this movie is very much, as you’ve already referenced with Deadpool discussing the current state of the MCU, very much of its time of where we are in the phases. So I would say it’s in there, but that’s sort of besides the point when it comes to Deadpool & Wolverine.

What are the challenges of keeping the audience invested in characters when they can now be recast, die, reborn due to the multiverse? This is obviously a big thing in the comics, but general movie audiences can respond differently. Is that something you guys take into consideration?

Feige: Well, I think the only thing we take into consideration is the story we’re telling and the story we’re telling in the moment. What’s great about these characters in 85 years of Marvel comic history is they do go on, the characters do continue, like all great mythological characters continue. They evolve and they change.

Part of what you will see in Deadpool & Wolverine is how Hugh, as this character, has changed and evolved. And some of that is based on the time we’re in. Some of that is based on fictional narratives of timelines and time variance authorities. All of that is simply fun storytelling tools to get a couple of great characters that you’ve always wanted to see together, together in a way that honors the past, but just as importantly sets up the future.

When you saw it, where was that point of excitement of seeing how this is this installment in the MCU and what audiences are about to say? Where was that excitement built from when you watch this film?

Feige: I always love it when disparate elements of our storylines come together. So of course Deadpool and Wolverine coming together, but there are surprises throughout the movie that I think are amazing to see up on screen and to see certain combinations up on screen.

“Part of what you will see in Deadpool & Wolverine is how Hugh, as this character, has changed and evolved.

Even Wolverine wearing a TVA jacket, I find fun and exciting in the way that we can combine these storylines into something that ultimately is a pure story about these two individuals and the relationship that they have, and the cathartic arc that they take together over the course of the movie. Everything else is fun Easter eggs for people who want to pay attention to such things. Like me.

I want to ask about the R-rating on this film. This isn’t being marketed as an R-rated film. The marketing is to a broad audience. Do you think R-rated films now, the actual rating is almost arbitrary? It’s the story that’s the most important thing?

Feige: I think the story has always been the most important thing and I think the rating system is to give parents and audiences an indication of what can be expected. But everybody knows there’s a huge range of PG movies, PG-13 movies, R movies. It is definitely an R movie with language and blood.

But I’ve said it is the sweetest, most wholesome R-rated movie, with characters who essentially can’t be hurt because of their healing factors. So it is a very sweet movie that I think people will make their own decisions on who they want to bring with them to the movie.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.