Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, director Shawn Levy and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige gave San Diego Comic-Con a multiverse-shaking surprise on Thursday, when the panel for Deadpool & Wolverine turned out to be a secret screening for the new movie.
“We’ve been all around the world with this movie, but the icing on the cake is right here, right now,” declared Jackman, who was also joined onstage by co-star Emma Corrin, who plays the villain of the film.
The screening took place in the cavernous Hall H, a room fans camp out overnight to enter. In normal times, those who get there early are allowed to stay to secure a seat for the biggest panels. But Deadpool & Wolverine is no ordinary panel, and in an unusual move, Hall H was cleared out ahead of time, with Marvel instituting a lottery system for tickets. Those lucky enough to win were rewarded, not just with the movie, but with a raunchy popcorn bucket that became a hot item, and which Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld was seen signing for fans.
Deadpool & Wolverine opens tonight around the country, and it is expected to easily nab the biggest R-rated opening weekend of all time, with tracking suggesting a gross of anywhere from $160 to $175 million in North America.
It’s a movie that has historic meaning for the Comic-Con crowd. Reynolds recalled bringing the first footage for the original Deadpool movie to Hall H in 2015, and how gratifying it was to hear the crowd chant “one more time,” demanding to see the trailer again. Then Jackman took over, amusingly and enthusiastically telling the story from his perspective. Jackman was backstage, and said he twisted arms to get it shown.
Indeed, Jackman was there at that presentation, which touted 20th Century Fox’s X-Men characters and during which the actor stated his intention to retire the character after the movie that became 2017’s Logan. Now against all odds, they are sharing the screen together, with Jackman coming out of Wolverine retirement for an R-rated movie released by Disney, thanks to the company’s 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
As the screening got underway, Reynolds, Jackman and Levy all yelled the mantra of the movie as they walked off stage: “Let’s fucking go!”
After the screening, Feige and company hit the stage once more, and they couldn’t contain their exuberance. Feige noted how the screening reaffirmed his belief of the power of a shared experience, calling it “the best movie experience in my life.”
