Newcomers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be able to enjoy July’s Deadpool & Wolverine without “prior research” says its director, Shawn Levy.
Emerging in the wake of a somewhat rocky period for the pop culture titan that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine is Marvel Studios’ sole cinema outing for 2024. As a result, there are hopes that it can reclaim some of the billion-dollar-plus success of Marvel’s better outings following the muted response to The Marvels and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.
In the build-up to the film’s release, Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy has been out and about, doing a bit of marketing. In a new interview with the Associated Press, Levy introduced a talking point that Marvel itself is probably keen to get across to would-be movie-goers: Deadpool & Wolverine, despite its connection to the wider MCU, won’t require a huge amount of prior knowledge to enjoy.
“I was a good student in school. I’ll do my homework as an adult,” Levy told the outlet, “but I am definitely not looking to do homework when I go to the movies.
“I very much made this film with certainly a healthy respect and gratitude towards the rabid fan base that has peak fluency in the mythology and lore of these characters and this world. But I didn’t want to presume that. This movie is built for entertainment, with no obligation to come prepared with prior research.”
The sense of expectation surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine was aptly summed up by Argylle director Matthew Vaughn, who in January – a period before the official title was revealed – suggested that movie will “save the whole Marvel Universe.”
That the MCU would even need saving would have sounded like a laughable concept five years ago, back when the box office success of Avengers: Endgame saw the franchise at the height of its powers. The mixed responses to its subsequent output, however, mean that a lot is now riding on the mass appeal of Ryan Reynolds’ impish Wade Wilson teaming up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in a sweary, R-rated action comedy. How times change.
Deadpool & Wolverine is out in UK cinemas on the 26th July.
