The incredible furor surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine could never have occurred if not for Hugh Jackman’s rescue after the MCU’s Deadpool 3 was nearly scrapped. Deadpool & Wolverine is slated for release on July 26 and has already been breaking records with pre-sold cinema tickets and trailer views. As the MCU’s only current 2024 movie release, a lot is riding on Deadpool & Wolverine to help draw a line beneath a somewhat disappointing 2023 – and the prognosis looks decidedly positive. Deadpool’s MCU debut wasn’t always looking so rosy, however.

In a Vanity Fair interview, it was revealed that Hugh Jackman phoned Ryan Reynolds with the basic concept for Deadpool & Wolverine not long before Reynolds was scheduled to call MCU boss Kevin Feige suggesting that Deadpool 3 be put on hold. The save came after Shawn Levy and Reynolds labored over a potential Deadpool 3 concept that would fit the MCU while staying true to the first two movies before resolving that it was “not the right moment,” due to a lack of a sufficient story – only for Jackman to call and change things entirely.

Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool & Wolverine Phone Call Story Makes His MCU Movie Save Even Better

Hugh Jackman’s account of the moment preceding the interaction details a crucially timed brainwave while on a week-long vacation, after which he wasted little time in presenting Reynolds with the concept. After starring in the Broadway show The Music Man for nine months, the vacation offered a chance for Jackman to take his mind off of work; yet his thoughts drifted to Wolverine all the same and prompted him to make a call that altered the fate of Deadpool 3 – and maybe even the MCU timeline in general. Jackman’s recollection is as follows:

“I was sitting on a beach, not a care in the world, and for some reason, the thought came into my head: ‘What do you want to do?’ … Then, literally, I thought: Deadpool-Wolverine. I want to do that movie. That’s what I want.”

Jackman’s phone call was a complete game-changer, as Reynolds immediately presented Feige with the idea, insisting “This is a one in a billion chance.” Despite Logan ostensibly concluding his tenure as Wolverine, Jackman knew that starring alongside Deadpool would open up a fresh dynamic for him to explore with Wolverine, as his typically severe demeanor would be counterbalanced by Deadpool’s famously cavalier character. Reynolds, meanwhile, recalled thinking that this was exactly the story they had been searching for.

The consensus surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine‘s timing mirrors this stroke of luck. The Marvels was the MCU’s biggest box office flop, casting doubt and concern on the future of the MCU without a significant shock to help resuscitate the franchise. Deadpool & Wolverine appears poised to deliver precisely that, and may even go so far as to deliver the first billion-dollar movie for the MCU since Spider-Man: No Way Home.