How do you top Deadpool 2? In the years after the 2018 hit, Ryan Reynolds and company struggled with that exact question on their hunt for the right idea for the franchise’s threequel.
Now, of course, we know the answer – rope in the Wolverine. Later this month, Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will co-headline perhaps the year’s most anticipated film, Deadpool & Wolverine, which marks the debut for both in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and opens a host of possibilities for the future.
As it turns out, the film nearly didn’t happen. Reynolds and director Shawn Levy struggled for years to come up with the right idea for the film until Jackman called Reynolds and told him he wanted to once again don the claws of his most famous character, who he first played in 2000’s X-Men.
But what were the ideas Reynolds and Levy were pitching to Marvel before Jackman made the call? Wendy Jacobson, the film’s executive producer, revealed the proposed concepts for Deadpool 3 before Jackman joined the cast.
“There were so many ideas. We had an indie road trip-type movie with Deadpool and Dopinder,” she tells The National, referring to the taxi driver played by Indian-American actor Karan Soni in the first two films. “We had a Deadpool deleted scenes extravaganza, where we were going to try to recreate iconic scenes from the MCU films, but now you're seeing what you didn't see before – Deadpool was there, his footage just got cut.
“At one point, there was an idea for a frame-for-frame remake of Thor: The Dark World but with Deadpool until the first act break. It really ran the gamut."
While there were many concepts on the table between 2018 and 2022, Jacobson notes that there was a marked difference in the pace of ideas before and after Jackman volunteered to join. “Before Hugh raised his hand, it’s crazy how long we were trying to develop and figure out what the movie is," she adds. "As soon as he was officially on board, we had our first draft of a screenplay in eight weeks. And we were prepping that and gave that to the crew and were shooting six months later."
Part of the reason for the struggle is that Deadpool & Wolverine was the first idea that Reynolds had for the film – which the actor recently revealed was initially rejected by Marvel.
According to Reynolds, he pitched a Rashomon-style story, referring to Akira Kurosawa’s famed 1950 film, which features the same story told from three different perspectives and has since become a popular storytelling device in film and television.
“The first act is through the prism of my experience, so I see Wolverine a certain way,” Reynolds said last week. "The second act is Wolverine sees me a certain way. And the third act is the objective experience."
Marvel head Kevin Feige said “absolutely not", Reynolds said. He also pitched an idea for Deadpool to star in a short film in which he’s interrogating a man. "And we come to find out he’s the hunter that shot Bambi," he said. "He was like: ‘We don’t [expletive] with Bambi. I was like: ‘OK, sorry, I didn’t know it was a sacred cow.'”
Even if Feige had said yes to the Rashomon idea, Jackman's participation was far from a sure thing. While the Australian actor has proudly embraced the character for as long as he’s played him, he publicly declared he wouldn’t return after the 2017 film Logan killed the character off, to solidify the film as a conclusive ending – something rare in the world of superheroes.
Jackman added: “The truth is, I meant what I said when I said I was done. I announced that before we shot Logan, and then about three days after that, I saw the first Deadpool in 2016, and about 15 minutes into the movie, I said: ‘Oops’.”
The idea of a team-up stuck with Jackman for years. “I could see the two characters together," he added. "All I kept thinking was 48 Hours, The Odd Couple and Planes Trains and Automobiles. I could see how these two characters would work.
“And then on August 14, 2022, I was driving and it came to me that I wanted to do it again – I wanted these two characters together. I thought Shawn and Ryan were about to shoot, so I pulled over on the side of the road and rang Ryan, and said: ‘I want to do this. Please tell me you’ll do this.’”
As luck would have it, Reynolds and Levy were mere hours away from meeting with Feige for a final pitch, for which the two threw out the ideas they had planned and reworked everything around Jackman joining the proceedings. This time, Feige said yes.
While Jackman doesn’t receive a writing credit for the film, after the script was written, he did send a long voice note to Reynolds, who co-wrote and co-produced, adding some ideas that became integral to the final product.
“Hugh knows this character better than else,” Jacobson says. “This is his 10th time playing him. It was very important to protect the legacy of Logan. Without spoiling it, I will say he took us in some amazing directions for the character and his arc, and he said he got to scratch an itch with this character that he’s been dying to for all these years.”
Jackman’s dedication to the character and the project gives things a propulsive energy that power the film, which often leaves Jacobson in awe, she says.
“On the last day on set, while filming our last scene, Hugh – I don’t even think he had a line, but he had his sleeveless suit on – before every take, he was doing 10 push-ups," she adds. "Just utter commitment from start to finish."
Deadpool & Wolverine is being released across the Middle East on July 25
'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The five pillars of Islam
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
