Shawn Levy Talks Comics-Accurate Wolverine Costume in Deadpool 3

Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy revealed that he consulted the biggest Marvel nerds to create Hugh Jackman‘s new Wolverine costume.

Per Entertainment Weekly, Levy attended the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival to promote the Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See where he was interviewed about the Marvel Cinematic Universe-set Deadpool installment currently on pause due to the ongoing strikes. The subject of Jackman’s comics-accurate yellow and blue Wolverine attire was brought up as Levy explained the reason why he made this creative decision.

“Like the rest of the world, I’ve waited two decades to see Wolverine in a whole movie with Deadpool, and I don’t know if this is our last shot at Wolverine on screen, so I was going to make goddamned sure we get the old yellow and blue just once, and that we get it right,” Levy said.

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Levy continued by explaining the “multiple, multiple, multiple iterations and fittings” that his team put Jackman through until they found a Wolverine suit that they liked. “It also helps that I’m making this movie within the MCU, so I have access to an army of the nerdiest nerds available to a Marvel project,” Levy said.

Wolverine Returns

MCU fans have been waiting to see Jackman in the classic Wolverine costume since his cinematic debut in 2000’s X-Men. Director Bryan Singer and the production team were publicly against re-creating the blue and yellow color scheme of the comics and opted for durable black leather inspired by The Matrix instead. With each X-Men installment, the costumes evolved to be closer to the comics, however Wolverine would mostly appear in street clothes as Jackman’s star had risen over time. The character’s iconic mask and blue gloves were teased in a deleted scene in 2013’s The Wolverine.

Jackman’s swan song as Wolverine came with the critically acclaimed Logan in 2017. The actor vowed it would be his final X-Men outing until Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds talked him into the upcoming installment after years of lobbying for a Wolverine cameo opposite the Merc with the Mouth. Reynolds and Levy’s decision to make Deadpool 3 “to be grounded and not feel like a bunch of physical environments filmed on a soundstage” is what resulted in pics of Jackman in costume being leaked online. Surprisingly, Levy has no issue with the leaks thanks to the positive fan response. “Fortunately, it seems global reaction to those costumes has been overwhelmingly positive, so all’s well that ends well,” Levy said.

Co-starring Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Emma Corrin, and Rob Delaney, Deadpool 3 is scheduled for release on May 3, 2024.