Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman OK'd Those “Deadpool” Divorce Jokes, Director Says: 'All in a Playful Spirit'

"Those lines wouldn’t be in the movie if Hugh and Jen didn’t think they were funny," Shawn Levy said

The director behind Deadpool & Wolverine is assuring audiences that all jokes in the movie were vetted beforehand.

While speaking with Variety recently about the smash-hit superhero movie's many cameos, filmmaker Shawn Levy said that both Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman were okay with jokes the movie makes about each actor's real-life divorces.

"We never did a joke about or with anyone that we didn’t run by them first," Levy, 56, said. "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 [Reynolds] or I would always run the lines by performers and make sure everyone felt comfortable and that we were never punching down."

Jackman, 55, and his ex-wife Deborra-lee announced they were separating after nearly three decades of marriage in September 2023, while Garner, 52, was married to Ben Affleck from 2005 until their 2015 divorce. In the new Marvel movie, Deadpool makes a joke about Wolverine's (Jackman) physique post-divorce, while Garner's character Elektra dismisses Deadpool's condolences about losing her onscreen romantic interest Daredevil, whom Affleck played back in 2004.

"It was all in a playful spirit that everyone felt good about," Levy told the outlet. "Those lines wouldn’t be in the movie if Hugh and Jen didn’t think they were funny."

Related: Deadpool & Wolverine Director Shawn Levy Reveals He's the Godfather of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's Son Olin

While Deadpool & Wolverine brought back many Marvel characters who had previously appeared on the big screen in films produced by New Line Cinema and 21st Century Fox, Affleck, 51, did not reprise his one-time role as Daredevil for the movie. When asked by Variety, Levy said the production never went so far as actually offering Affleck an opportunity to appear in the movie.

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"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," he said. "We made contact with everyone featured in the Fox tribute reel halfway through our end credits — and that’s dozens of actors who have been a part of that legacy. That was fun to build a love letter to those years, those characters, and all the actors who played them."

Related: Wesley Snipes Broke Two Guinness World Records in Returning as Blade for Deadpool & Wolverine

In addition to Jackman and Garner, the most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe entry also featured surprise appearances from Wesley Snipes, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans and Dafne Keen, among others. The movie has dominated the box office since its release on July 26 and has already made more than $824 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo.

Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now.

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