The Marvel Cinematic Universe recently grew with Deadpool & Wolverine, which is a record-breaking success at the box office. Prior to its release it was the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie in years, and it's been a huge success, bringing the franchise's R-rated humor to the shared universe. There's been a lot of talk about Deadpool's cocaine jokes after switching to Disney. Here's what really happened, according to director Shawn Levy.
After being kept separate for years, Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened up the door for Wade Wilson to join the MCU. The franchise kept it signature R-rating, but there were some requests from the studio. Chief among them being Kevin Feige not wanting Ryan Reynolds' signature character to do cocaine on screen anymore. This ended up becoming a running joke in Deadpool 3, and while speaking on Happy Sad Confused, Levy revealed the funny way that dialogue came together. In his words:
Early on Kevin was like 'Look. We want a fully Deadpool Deadpool movie. The only thing maybe is we don't do all the drug use and cocaine use with Al and Wade.' And we were like 'Yes sir, copy that.' And we went home and and literally wrote the joke about Feige requesting no cocaine. And it became one of the first jokes we wrote.
And just like that, one of Deadpool 3's best runners was born. In typical Ryan Reynolds fashion, he and Shawn Levy found a way to break the fourth wall about joining Marvel, and being under the leadership of Kevin Feige. Although I have to wonder the the MCU boss will think twice before setting down boundaries related to the Merch with a Mouth; they might end up being added to his dialogue.
Wade Wilson didn't get to use cocaine at all during Deadpool & Wolverine's runtime, to the chagrin of Wade's roommate Blind Al, played by Leslie Uggams. She tries to convince him to partake in the drug, while also listing every possible nickname for the substance she could think of. So while they didn't actually do any lines of coke, at least there were a ton of bonkers references to that happening.
While some fans were nervous about the Deadpool franchise joining the MCU, the heart of the bonkers franchise was still in the threequel. In addition to being violent and full of F-bombs, Deadpool & Wolverine's credits also featured a sweet tribute to 20th Century Fox. Plus, fans went wild over various cameos from past movies, including Channing Tatum's Gambit, Dafne Keen's X-23, Wesley Snipes' Blade, and Jennifer Garner's Elektra.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now (sans drug use), and the next MCU movie hitting theater is Captain America: Brave New World on February 14th. In the meantime, check out the 2025 movie release dates.
