Ryan Reynolds Pushes for Deadpool & Wolverine to Break Oscar Barriers

As awards season heats up, all eyes are on Deadpool & Wolverine and its chances of earning some love from the Academy. Historically, superhero films have struggled to break into Oscar territory, but Ryan Reynolds believes this third Deadpool movie could be the one to change that. Speaking with IndieWire, Reynolds opened up about the depth behind the comedy-heavy script.

“Many of the alt jokes are written in advance,” Reynolds explained. “One thing that’s against it [in the awards space] is that a lot of people consider it a comedy. That’s fair, but it has a backbone that is emotion and warmth. Comedy and drama both subsist on tension. Certainly comedy is designed to set up an expectation and then come 90 degrees to it or subvert it. Somehow, you can do that so much more when you have dramatic stakes.”

Director Shawn Levy echoed Reynolds’ sentiments, emphasizing the meticulous work that went into the film. “There’s this presumption, because the movie has a bouncy, naturalistic flow to it, that ‘Oh, we’re just finding it through improvisation and trying stuff out on set,’” Levy said. “And certainly, there’s a little bit of that, but we refuse to go into production without a script that is honestly 95 percent reflective of the movie that everyone’s seen. It really was the outgrowth of a long, long writing process.”

While Deadpool’s quick wit and meta humor come naturally, the film had its challenges, particularly with Wolverine’s character. Reynolds admitted that writing dialogue for Wolverine was a daunting task. “For me to write Wolverine dialogue was a terrifying process. There’s a specificity to the character. Obviously, he’s very Clint Eastwood, less is more, he’s a non-verbal character. But we’ve also capitalized on Marvel’s pre-existing multiverse format to find a viable way to bring back a Wolverine that is maybe different than the one they knew in Logan.”

This Wolverine is a more complex, damaged version of the iconic character, struggling with guilt over decisions that led to the deaths of his fellow X-Men. Even the choice to put Wolverine in his iconic yellow suit wasn’t just about fan service. “It’s this symbol of his self-loathing and his conviction that he is beyond forgiveness, and the movie is a journey towards him forgiving himself,” Levy revealed.

While Deadpool & Wolverine serves up plenty of laughs and fourth-wall-breaking antics, its deeper themes of redemption and self-discovery add an emotional weight rarely seen in the genre. Whether that’s enough to grab the Academy’s attention remains to be seen, but Reynolds and Levy are confident in the movie’s potential to stand out.