Ryan Reynolds signed on to star in a movie based on the Deadpool comics as far back as 2004. Since the character swears like a sailor, constantly breaks the fourth wall, and psychopathically enjoys excessive bloodshed, Hollywood executives were reluctant to spend millions of dollars bringing him to the screen in an R-rated gore-fest.
Reynolds stuck with the project, developed the script over a decade, garnered fan support, and eventually turned out the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. And that’s just the first of many great stories from the production of these movies. So, here are some fascinating behind-the-scenes details from the making of the Deadpool movies.
Ryan Reynolds Stole His Deadpool Costume When He Finished Shooting The First Movie
After filming wrapped on the first Deadpool movie, Ryan Reynolds took his costume home. He didn’t ask anyone for permission, but when Fox executives found out he stole the suit, they didn’t mind and let him keep it.
The actor later stole the “dead Logan” music box featured in the opening scene of Deadpool 2. One has to wonder what memento he’ll take home from the set of Deadpool 3 when it finally goes into production.
Tim Miller’s Original Plans For Deadpool 2 Included The Fantastic Four
In the early stages of developing Deadpool 2, Tim Miller was going to return to the director’s chair. Following creative disagreements with Ryan Reynolds, Miller left the project and was replaced by John Wick co-director David Leitch. Miller explained on The Playlist’s “Fourth Wall” podcast that his initial plans for the sequel included the Fantastic Four.
The Thing would’ve had a big showdown with the Juggernaut in the final set piece, and Miller even cleared this with Fox executives. In Miller’s version of the story, Vanessa had a bigger role, too. She would’ve taken on her superhero alter ego from the comics, Copycat, instead of dying in the first few minutes.
Fox Traded Ego To Marvel For Negasonic Teenage Warhead
The writers of Deadpool wanted to use Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the movie, but Marvel Studios still had the rights to the character. Meanwhile, Marvel wanted to use Ego the Living Planet as Peter Quill’s biological father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but Fox owned the rights to that character.
So, the two studios struck a deal to trade characters. Negasonic became the first LGBTQ character to play a major role in a superhero blockbuster that features a same-sex couple.
Brad Pitt Was Paid A Cup Of Coffee For His Cameo Appearance In Deadpool 2
One of the most surprising cameos in Deadpool 2 is Brad Pitt, who plays the Vanisher. The Vanisher remains invisible for most of his scenes, and only reveals himself to be played by Pitt when he’s electrocuted and becomes visible for less than two seconds.
Ryan Reynolds offered the role to Pitt in a letter, and he found the idea funny and immediately agreed to do it. Shooting Pitt’s cameo took about seven minutes, and the actor was paid a cup of coffee for his time.
Ryan Reynolds’ Makeup Takes Six To Eight Hours To Apply
Midway through Deadpool’s origin story, Wade Wilson’s mutant genes are activated and his entire body is permanently scarred. Unfortunately for Ryan Reynolds, it’s not easy to apply all that makeup. For any scene where Deadpool isn’t wearing his mask, Reynolds has to sit in the makeup chair for anywhere between six and eight hours (there are conflicting reports) while the scarring is applied.
Once it’s on, he isn’t able to sit down or he’ll ruin it. Makeup designer Bill Corso went through a few different designs before settling on the final one.
Juggernaut Was Played By An Uncredited Ryan Reynolds
Many X-Men fans were pleasantly surprised to see an unannounced appearance by the Juggernaut in Deadpool 2. He’s the big, bad mutant prisoner who is teased early in the movie and makes an appearance as Firefist’s sidekick later on.
In the end credits, the Juggernaut is credited “as himself,” but of course, he wasn’t actually played by himself. He was played by Ryan Reynolds, who did the voice (which was lowered in post-production) and performed the motion-capture for the character’s face.
The First Person To See Deadpool Was A 13-Year-Old Make-A-Wish Kid
The first person who ever saw the first Deadpool movie was a terminally ill 13-year-old fan named Connor McGrath. He wanted to attend one of two special fan screenings in New York and L.A., but when the Make-A-Wish Foundation looked into it, the seriousness of McGrath’s illness prevented him from making the journey to one of the screenings.
When Ryan Reynolds heard about this, he traveled to Edmonton and surprised McGrath with a private screening. Reynolds kept in touch with McGrath until he passed away a few months later, after which he paid tribute to him on social media.
Ryan Reynolds Wrote Deadpool 2’s Baby Legs Scene Himself
Having worked closely with screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese on the script for the first Deadpool movie, Ryan Reynolds actually got a writing credit alongside the duo on the sequel. The hilarious “baby legs” sequence was written entirely by Reynolds himself.
Despite being an 11-page dialogue scene in an action-packed superhero blockbuster, everyone involved in the production loved it so much that the scene remained mostly unchanged from the first draft. Reynolds has said that the whole success of the scene comes from the CGI team getting the legs right.
The Jokey Opening Credits Were Originally Just A Placeholder
The jokey opening credits in Deadpool (“Starring God’s Perfect Idiot,” “Produced By Asshats,” “Directed By An Overpaid Tool” etc.) were originally just used as a placeholder while the team created the title sequence.
However, director Tim Miller enjoyed the spoof credits so much that he decided to use them in the final cut of the movie.
Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, And Arnold Schwarzenegger Were Considered For The Role Of Cable
Casting the role of Cable proved to be tough for the team behind Deadpool 2. Pretty much every gruff action movie star in Hollywood was under consideration for the part, including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kurt Russell, Bruce Willis, Ron Perlman, Mel Gibson, Stephen Lang, and Dolph Lundgren.
Michael Shannon almost played the part, but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Eventually, Josh Brolin was chosen, around the same time he was played Thanos in the third and fourth Avengers movies, and he was signed to a four-movie contract.