In keeping with its protagonist’s savagely irreverent sensibility, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is chock full of meta gags that both celebrate and eviscerate its parent companies’ adventures in the big screen superhero trade. Does the Merc with a Mouth hold anything sacred (aside from the glistening glory of Logan’s shredded abs)? There must be some jokes that are out of bounds for the character, but it’s hard to imagine what those jokes would be. After all, in this installment, he makes a crack about Hugh Jackman’s real-life 2023 divorce!
As long as divorces are grist for laughs, why not take aim at the failed marriage of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck? After becoming friends on the sets of “Pearl Harbor” and “Daredevil,” the actors got hitched in 2005 and had three children together before officially splitting in 2018. This is dicey material for humor, especially when kids are involved. Maybe that’s why Ryan Reynolds left this particular joke to his surprise co-star Garner. If that’s why he deferred, it was a wise move because Garner’s two-word swipe at Affleck absolutely kills.
As for whether there was behind-the-scenes drama in getting these jokes cleared with the performers, you might be surprised how game everyone was to poke fun at their professional and personal lives.
How to be respectfully funny about a failed marriage
In an interview with Variety, director Shawn Levy was asked as to whether these jokes were scripted, and if he was worried that the actors involved might take offense. According to Levy:
“We never did a joke about or with anyone that we didn’t run by them first. Whether it was scripted, like the Daredevil line, or unscripted, like ‘He’s normally shirtless, but he’s let himself go since the divorce,’ which was more of on-set improv, Ryan or I would always run the lines by performers and make sure everyone felt comfortable and that we were never punching down. It was all in a playful spirit that everyone felt good about. Those lines wouldn’t be in the movie if Hugh and Jen didn’t think they were funny.”
In the case of Garner’s shrugged “It’s fine” response to Daredevil’s off-screen death at the hands of Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), you can’t help but wonder if Affleck was asked back for a brief cameo. Apparently, he wasn’t. Per Levy, “Early on, when we were looking at a 70-name menu of Marvel characters, Daredevil was on one of those lists, but never since those earliest of conversations, and never to the point of outreach or offers or anything like that.”
Now there’s an instance where a meta Deadpool joke might’ve cut a tad too close to the bone. Regardless, it worked out for the best. Garner and Elektra were owed a far more dignified swan song than that abomination of an “Elektra” spinoff movie dumped into movie theaters in January 2005. “Deadpool & Wolverine” can’t fix everything, but I think everyone at least feels a little better about that whole (mostly) bungled 20th Century Fox run of Marvel movies.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is currently playing in theaters.