Deadpool & Wolverine nearly said Bye Bye Bye to its now iconic opening dance number, as the inclusion of NSYNC’s hit song came late into production, and a rival boy band was a close contender to serenade the opening. The scene sees Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) desecrate Logan’s (Hugh Jackman) grave to confirm he’s actually dead. When TVA agents apprehend Deadpool, he uses Logan’s adamantium skeleton to brutally kill them, taking short breaks to dance to NSYNC’s anthem.
During an interview with MovieWeb, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s editors, Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid, revealed that the opening dance scene nearly featured a hit song by Backstreet Boys, as well as a number of timeless classics in the early drafts of the movie. The earliest edit of the movie opened with a very different tone. As Shane Reid explained, “It actually started with Kenny Rogers’ song ‘The Gambler,’ which all of our pre-vis was cut to.”
However, during production, neither the editors, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, nor Shawn Levy thought the song was working within the scene. Reid explained, “At a certain point, the film took on a different language. The song didn’t quite work with the same energy that we wanted that scene to have.” During the editing process, Shane Reid actually used ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” as a placeholder track, before a final decision was made.
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“We had like, seven or eight songs that we might have tried up against that,” Reid continued. The set list was whittled down to two main contenders. NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” and an unnamed Backstreet Boys hit. Dean Zimmerman continued, “Ultimately, it came down to the two different boy bands. I think we had a Backstreet Boys song in there.” The final song was decided by a small jury of collaborators on the movie. Zimmerman explained:
In one hour, we did a mini test with a few trusted people in the production, and NSYNC was the hands-down favorite.
“It’s Deadpool. We Can Do Whatever We Want.”
During the conversation, Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid explained that Deadpool & Wolverine is the product of its many, many collaborators. Dean Zimmerman was initially set to edit the movie by himself. However, Shane Reid was brought on later in pre-production by recommendation of Blake Lively. The pair quickly became close collaborators, and, by bouncing several ideas off each other, managed to create some of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s most beloved scenes. Dean Zimmerman explained:
“Those kind of sequences are awesome because they start one way, and they end up completely different. What I had done was all planned out, choreographed out. Then to let Shane come in with his brilliance of being completely unhandcuffed and just go wild and take it in a completely different direction really unlocked how we approached the rest of the movie as well. What was set in stone, or pre-choreographed, or whatever — nope, not anymore.
It’s Deadpool. We can do whatever we want.”
Deadpool & Wolverine is now available to purchase on home media and digital platforms. As well as the theatrical cut of the movie, the DVD and Blu-Ray extras include running commentary from Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds, deleted scenes involving a fan favorite character, some behind the scenes footage and interviews, and those oh-so important bloopers and alts.
A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
- Release Date
- July 26, 2024