Write On: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Co-Writer & Director Shawn Levy

“I would argue that the movies, the plays, the stories that
endure and certainly that resonate in the most populist and
global way are the ones where we’re not just observing a piece of
storytelling, we’re participative in some way and it’s
connective. How can any of us who are flawed humans connect
with a flawless hero? The beauty of Wade [Deadpool] and Logan
[Wolverine] is that really, they’re two anti-heroes. They do not
abide by typical moral codes. They both have been scarred deeply.
And I think one thing that’s really interesting about them is
that the worst thing that’s ever happened to them is also the
source of their superpowers. Which I think, by the way, is
something worth thinking about in all our lives – that the things
that we had to get over are also the source of our strength,”
says writer/director of Deadpool & Wolverine Shawn
Levy. 


In this episode, we discuss the elements that Levy thinks make a
great hero and also a powerful villain like Cassandra Nova (Emma
Corrin). 


“There was something really juicy about [Cassandra’s] twinship
with Charles Xavier, that this villain is a new villain who has
never been in a movie, who has never been anywhere other than the
pages of a Marvel comic book. But there is this connective tissue
to deep beloved, extensive mythology with Professor X and
Charles. So we did lean into her resentment, her envy of Charles.
You know, I think maybe one of my favorite couplets of our
writing in this movie is when Cassandra says to Wolverine, ‘He
must have really loved you.’ And he says to Cassandra, ‘He would
have loved you too. He would have torn a hole in the universe if
he knew where you were.’ I get goosebumps saying it now!” says
Levy. 


We also break down that hilarious fight scene between Deadpool
& Wolverine that takes place entirely inside a Honda Odyssey.


To hear more insights about the highest grossing R-rated comedy
of all time, listen to the podcast.