Spectacular Connection ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Shares With Henry Cavill’s $872 Million Superhero Film is a Rare Instance of DC and Marvel Worlds Colliding
- The widely awaited flick Deadpool & Wolverine took the box office by storm as it managed to reignite the fandom's love for Marvel.
- Much like the smashing DC hit Batman vs Superman, Deadpool & Wolverine also chose to go with Weta Digital for their visual effects needs.
- A dedicated team at Weta Digital spent months trying to perfect Deadpool’s mask in terms of its color, material, eye expression, and position.
The widely awaited flick Deadpool & Wolverine took the box office by storm as it managed to reignite the fandom’s love for Marvel. Teaming up two of the most dysfunctional and polar opposite mutants was a stroke of brilliance with the hilarious quips and action sequences being the cherries on top.
Another notable aspect of the movie was the visual effects and digital animation that made many iconic scenes happen seamlessly. Along with Shawn Levy’s exceptional direction and Ryan Reynolds’ immaculate comic timing, the background VFX team did a fantastic job of making the entire narrative come alive on the big screen.
Deadpool & Wolverine tapped into Weta Digital’s VFX expertise
Much like the smashing DC hit Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadpool & Wolverine also chose to go with Weta Digital for their visual effects needs. Moreover, the studio paid particular attention to Deadpool’s mask which has a life of its own. For most of the movie, while we may be hearing Ryan Reynolds’ voice, we’re only able to see his mask. The mutant’s mask needed to look absolutely perfect.
A dedicated team at Weta Digital spent months trying to perfect Deadpool’s mask in terms of its color, material, eye expression, and position. The head of marketing and commitment at the studio spoke to Business Insider about making the mask and he said,
It was very specific, we built a couple of custom tools to allow us to get in and do work [on the mask] very efficiently and, we believe, quite well. Our job was to make sure that his line readings … came through the mask.
Weta Studio understood the assignment and delivered it splendidly. Not only was Reynolds perfect as Deadpool but he looked incredible while portraying the role. He excelled at emoting through his voice modulation and body language. While the viewers couldn’t see Reynolds’ facial expressions due to the mask, the team did 2D manipulation to increase the intensity of the expression through the mask.
Weta Digital also worked on Deadpool
The very first Deadpool movie that catapulted the popularity of Reynolds as the titular character also used Weta Digital to get the Merc with a Mouth’s facial expressions on point. The digital studio has gone beyond the limits of ordinary animation to make Deadpool’s emotions resonate with the masses even from behind the mask.
Other Marvel movies including Iron Man 3 and X-Men: First Class have also employed the extraordinary skills of Weta Digital. The New-Zealand Zealand-based company has over two decades of experience in the field, making it a go-to company for all visual effects needs for movies across genres.
Deadpool is streaming on Disney+.
