Even though hindsight proves that banking on Deadpool movies should have been a no-brainer for 20th Century Fox in the 2010s, fans are only able to watch Ryan Reynolds’ merc sharing the screen with Hugh Jackman in the sequel Deadpool and Wolverine because of that infamous footage leak back in 2014. For years, that leak has been one of Hollywood’s biggest low-key mysteries, considering its massive impact on current and upcoming Marvel movies. And now the truth has emerged! At least somewhat.
Reynolds and Jackman — not to mention director Shawn Levy — have taken part in a massive wave of promotion for Deadpool and Wolverine, culminating in the film releasing on the same weekend as San Diego Comic-Con. And what better way to celebrate such a huge swing of a mash-up project than to give the world more clarification regarding how filmmaker Tim Miller’s early animated test footage went public. With a lie detector test, no less, thanks to Vanity Fair.
With Ryan Reynolds hooked up to the machine, Hugh Jackman read from a list of prepared questions, and near the end of his sesh, the big guns came out, and the Green Lantern vet was asked straight-up if he was the one behind the leak. That initially led to this fun back-and-forth.
- Ryan Reynolds: Great question. This is a great question. Pass.
- Hugh Jackman: I just want to remind you that you are hooked up to a polygraph machine.
- Ryan Reynolds: I just want to remind you that this does not follow the letter of the fuckin’ law, and if I wanted to break out of this room and destroy everything in my path, I will. I would say that I…what is the question?
At which point, the polygraph expert tasked with keeping tabs on the readout — Louis — strongly suggested he answer the question, which sparked an amusing bit of feigned distress from the Deadpool portrayer, who offered this up as quite possibly the definitive answer for "Was Ryan Reynolds the one who leaked the footage?" His answer:
Oh well for fuck’s sakes. I mean I might have provided an assist. [Pauses for Louis to validate it as truth.] I was Scottie Pippen. I was just there doing my job, and someone else gets all the credit.
Reynolds has long been Suspect #1 or #2 when it comes to the leaked footage, given how many years he'd been pushing for a Deadpool movie, only to have Fox temporarly pull the plug on developing the R-rated feature in the aftermath of The Avengers' success and Green Lantern's failure. The first film's director Tim Miller is the other likely culprit, so to speak, since this was his big chance to show off his visual skills on mini-blockbuster scale.
Both have joked about the leak over the years, clearly viewing it as a boon rather than a scandal. And Reynolds has gone above and beyond poking fun at that situation being the catalylst behind this franchise's existence, even giving it an Unsolved Mysteries spoof.
And while Ryan Reynolds didn't 100% put the target around Tim Miller's neck with his most direct leaked footage answer yet, his basketball analogy appears to makes that connection. If the guy playing Deadpool is the Scottie Pippen, then who else but the director could serve as the Michael Jordan? Sure, on a broader scale, Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige is the MJ of superhero cinema, but the big boss still says he doesn't know who did it.
If it truly wasn't Tim Miller who put it out there, one can only hope that the person who did was rewarded graciously for their efforts, seeing as Deadpool and Wolverine is now the biggest R-rated movie of all time. A nice greeting card would suffice, I'm sure.
Fans can check out Deadpool and Wolverine in theaters now, and it’s best to see it as soon as possible before all the big X-Men cameos and other surprising guest stars are spoiled for everyone.
