Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Address ‘Sexual Tension’ in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have no trouble showing off their on- and off-screen chemistry. The Deadpool & Wolverine co-stars were cracking jokes alongside director Shawn Levy and addressing their “sexual tension” in a recent interview. 

The trio join forces on the latest cover of Variety while promoting their upcoming Marvel film. In their joint interview, the group was asked whether Deadpool (Reynolds) and Wolverine (Jackman) experienced any “sexual chemistry or tension” in the movie since the former is “famously pansexual.” 

“I can’t speak for Wolverine, but I feel like Deadpool has sexual tension with everything and everyone,” Reynolds, 47, quips. 

“Don’t deny this is special,” Jackman, 55, chimes in. 

“You’re right,” Reynolds allows. “I feel it right now. My God, like two magnets facing the wrong direction.” 

Levy chimes in with a more diplomatic answer, referring to Deadpool’s alter ego, Wade Wilson. 

“Wade is a fan of the Wolverine,” Levy, also 55, says. “He drives [Wolverine] crazy off-screen and on. But there’s a reverence. There’s a fanboy love.” 

Deadpool & Wolverine marks Disney’s first R-rated offering since the studio’s acquisition of the characters from 20th Century Fox — which released the first two Deadpool films — in 2019. Throughout the press tour, Reynolds and Jackman have leaned heavily into NSFW promotion including a naughty popcorn bucket reveal and, earlier this week, a Bachelorette-specific commercial highlighting Jackman’s backside, to name just a few. 

When ET caught up with Reynolds in April, he joked about his dueling bromances with Jackman and his Welcome to Wrexham counterpart, Rob McElhenney, with whom he co-owns the Wrexham Association Football Club. The Red Notice actor joked that it may have taken Jackman some time to understand he isn’t the only man in Reynolds’ life after McElhenney, 47, purchased the Welsh soccer team back in 2020. 

“Oh, he’s a very jealous person,” Reynolds joked of Jackman. “It’s a real proprietary sense of meaning in everything I do… [I’m] just Hugh’s little meat puppet.”

All jokes aside, Reynolds and Levy both credit Jackman with providing the key element to bring the third Deadpool installment to the big screen. 

“We had been trying to craft a story for several months. We had some interesting approaches, but it never gelled. Literally within a day of Hugh joining this story, we knew what the movie was,” Levy tells Variety. 

“We had a why. When Hugh called, Shawn and I were on our last pitch. Right before, we were like, ‘We’ll do the Zoom with Marvel, and if they don’t bite on this pitch that we have, we’ll stand down,” Reynolds recalls. 

According to the pair, it was a 17-minute long voice memo from Jackman that unlocked the story. 

“Ryan and I were working out together, which already is a shaky premise. What am I doing in that gym? But we get this text on our chain, and it’s a voice memo.” Levy shares. “We’re like, ‘The guy couldn’t call? He couldn’t type?’ We connected Hugh’s voice memo to Bluetooth speakers, and it was Hugh scratching at ‘I’m happy with the script, but is there more?'” 

Reynolds adds, “He was scratching at something opaque, and then suddenly it triggered epiphany after epiphany. So, Hugh, you have a huge hand in writing the movie as well. One of my favorite parts of your character in the film is from that voice memo.”

The script was written by Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells and Levy.

As for the cast, Reynolds and Jackman are joined on-screen by Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen.

Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26. 

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