‘Deadpool’ director defends Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman divorce jabs: ‘All in a playful spirit’
Deadpool might be an unapologetic jerk, but at least he got permission.
Discussing some of the more cruel jabs made at the âDeadpool & Wolverineâ castâs personal lives in the new Marvel blockbuster, director Shawn Levy said every crack was mutually agreed upon.
âWe never did a joke about or with anyone that we didnât run by them first,â Levy, 56, told Variety. âWhether it was scripted, like the Daredevil line, or unscripted.â
Beware, there are spoilers below.
After Jennifer Garnerâs Elektra is reintroduced, Ryan Reynoldsâ Deadpool offers condolences for the death of Daredevil, who was played by Garnerâs ex-husband, Ben Affleck, in 2003’s “Daredevil” (which Post critic Lou Lumenick awarded half a star.)
âOh, itâs fine,â she responds.
Garner, 52, and Affleck, 51, were married for 10 years and announced they were divorcing in 2015.
Another gag made light of co-star Hugh Jackmanâs separation from wife of 27 years Deborra-Lee Furness.Â
âHeâs usually shirtless,â Deadpool says of Jackmanâs Wolverine. âBut heâs let himself go since the divorce.â
Jackman, 55, and Furness, 68, announced they were splitting up in September 2023.
âThose lines wouldnât be in the movie if Hugh and Jen didnât think they were funny,â Levy added.
âRyan 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.â
The director of the R-rated MCU hit, which has so far grossed $824 million worldwide, also had a laugh about rampant prerelease whispers that Taylor Swift was going to make a cameo appearance in the movie â she didnât.
âThat was one of the loudest rumors that came out of nowhere,â Levy told the outlet.Â
âIt was never true. Thank you, internet, for building such a smokescreen of rumors and half-truths so that no one ever knew what was going to happen.â