Deadpool & Wolverine’s Most “Emotional” Reunion Is So Much More Than A Cameo
Executive producer Wendy Jacobson talks Dafne Keen, The Greatest Showman, and whether The Rock should join the MCU.
The morning before I spoke to Deadpool & Wolverine executive producer Wendy Jacobson, Marvel released a new trailer for the film confirming the return of a surprising superhero actor: Dafne Keen. After previously denying any involvement in the film, it turned out the 19-year-old actress best known for playing Laura (aka X-23) back in 2017 was reprising her role in the Deadpool threequel. The reveal came as a shock to Marvel fans, but according to Jacobson, the best part of bringing back Keen was getting to witness her emotional reunion with Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman.
“I’m pretty sure they hadn’t see each other in several years,” Jacobson tells Inverse. “She was just a kid when they made that movie and now she’s a grown-up, so it was really beautiful to see them reconnect.”
Jacobson previously served as executive producer on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, her first Marvel Studios project, and before that worked as a producer on several Dwayne Johnson action movies (San Andreas, Skyscraper, and Rampage). She spoke to Inverse about everything from Deadpool & Wolverine’s surprising new soundtrack to her thoughts on the future of the Hulk and whether she’d want to recruit The Rock to join the MCU. (Short answer: “Heck yeah!”)
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Wendy Jacobson with Deadpool & Wolverine star Rob Delaney at an event in London.
So this is your first Marvel movie after being an executive producer on She-Hulk, your first Marvel show. What would you say is the difference between movies and TV in the MCU?
The truth is I feel like there isn’t much of a difference, maybe in the size of the sandbox. The development is kind of the same, we’re trying to make the best story possible. It’s not that much different.
Marvel announced the soundtrack for Deadpool & Wolverine recently, and it includes “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman, which starred Hugh Jackman. Whose idea was that?
I have to give all music credit to Ryan [Reynolds] and [director] Shawn [Levy] and our two editors Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid, because they’re all savant like when it comes to music. I can’t wait for you to see the context in which that song appears. But music is such a big part of all the Deadpool films, and the bar is so high from the first two. So we knew this was going to be a big part of this one, too.
Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman.
Based on the footage I’ve seen, there are a lot of jokes in this movie making fun of Marvel Studios. Was there ever any pushback on that part of the script?
The truth is, we all went into this movie holding hands, eyes wide open, knowing we were making a Deadpool film. We really wanted to be authentic to that. The truth is nothing is off limits to Deadpool, including himself. And when it comes to making fun of something… he never punches down; there’s a real egalitarianism in that. It’s kind of an equal opportunity situation. Kevin Feige once said, we were talking about one line in particular, and he said, “The way I see it is it’s a real badge of honor to be made fun of by Deadpool.”
Your previous Marvel project was She-Hulk, which also featured Mark Ruffalo as Hulk. Would you want to make a Hulk movie? Or a She-Hulk movie?
Absolutely! I love the Hulks. I had a great experience working on She-Hulk and I love Mark Ruffalo. He was so much fun to play with in She-Hulk. He loved being in She-Hulk and playing with that comedy side. Yeah, I would do anything with either of those characters.
Mark Ruffalo as the incredible Hulk in She-Hulk.
Before Marvel, you produced a few different movies starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Now that he’s a free agent in superhero movies, do you have any designs on bringing him into the MCU?
Oh my god, I’d love to work with Dwayne again. I think it’s all about finding the right thing. Some of these things are a little above my pay grade. I just do what I’m told at Marvel. But heck yeah, sign me up.
Marvel released a new trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine today, and it confirms the return of Logan star Dafne Keen. How did that come about and what was it like bringing her into the movie?
It’s interesting because cameo is a word we don’t really say in our film. To us, it’s purely story-driven. If someone is showing up, they have a beginning, middle, and end. Dafne coming in gives the film a real emotional poignancy and resonance. I will say, the one thing from the filmmakers side that was so cool was seeing Dafne and Hugh see each other for the first time before we started shooting. I’m pretty sure they hadn’t see each other in several years. She was just a kid when they made that movie and now she’s a grown-up, so it was really beautiful to see them reconnect.
Dafne Keen in Logan.
Speaking of Logan, there’s been a lot of talk about protecting that film’s legacy and how Deadpool & Wolverine could overlap with it. What was your approach there?
The legacy of Logan was so important to everyone involved in this film and no one wanted to tarnish it because it was such a beautiful ending for that character. And the truth is, no one is more of a protector of that character and that legacy than Hugh Jackman, but truthfully Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Feige, everyone wanted to protect what was so sacred from that movie, and I think we took great care to address that in our film, in a true Deadpool fashion. Fans, you don’t need to worry, everything remains intact.
