“It allows me to not think about the stakes”: Shawn Levy’s Honest Confession About Pressures of Making Deadpool & Wolverine Reveals How it Could Affect His Career
- Shawn Levy faced immense pressure directing Marvel's 'Deadpool & Wolverine.'
- Friendship with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman eased his stress.
- The film's success could elevate Levy's Hollywood directorial career.
Did you know that Shawn Levy, the director of popular movies like Free Guy and The Adam Project, once acted in a play with Robert Downey Jr.? Levy’s career has been one of a kind. The Montreal native has had a great career making funny and family-friendly films, but now he’s taking on his biggest challenge yet: directing Deadpool & Wolverine for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He recently spoke about the stress of directing the much-awaited movie. The 55-year-old said that there’s a lot of pressure and high expectations with the film. However, when he’s working with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on set, all that pressure disappears.
Friendship as a Creative Shield For Shawn Levy
Even for experienced Hollywood directors, some projects bring a lot of stress. That’s true for Shawn Levy, who’s directing one of the most eagerly awaited Marvel movies: Deadpool & Wolverine.
However, Levy talked about the close friendship between himself, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) as a creative bubble. The director said in an interview with The Official Marvel Podcast:
When I am in the room or I’m on the set with my brothers High and Ryan, all the noise, all the cultural noise and all that pressure of expectation sort of evaporates. Because it’s just me and my buddy making each other laugh or watching something that makes us tear up.
He continued:
And just challenging each other which challenges ourselves for the best possible everything – best possible joke, best possible structure payoff you know script detail, visual details so I find that the process gets simplified because it’s done in this bubble of friendship and it allows me to not think about the stakes and just think about the movie and this creative process.
Rather than the high stakes of making a big movie, they pushed each other to be their best. So, even though there was a lot of pressure, their friendship helped the Canadian filmmaker concentrate on making a great film.
Shawn Levy’s Career Hinges on Deadpool & Wolverine Success
There’s no denying the pressure Shawn Levy feels. He has a host of upcoming projects but Deadpool & Wolverine is easily the biggest project of his career. A hit could secure his Marvel future, but a flop might harm his career prospects.
The talented director, who graduated with honors from Yale University at the age of twenty, is also working on a Star Wars movie. Even that could be impacted. Levy’s career is at a crossroads. Expectations are high for his latest movie—if it tanks, his career as a Marvel director could be over.
Deadpool & Wolverine is set to hit theatres on 26th July, 2024!
