Mutant mania: On the ground with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds at Seoul's epic 'Deadpool & Wolverine' fan meet

With Deadpool & Wolverine set to premiere later this month, expectations for Marvel’s only film for 2024 are at an all-time high. To prime audiences for the first proper team-up of Marvel’s most popular mutants, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have embarked on a whirlwind global tour.

On their South Korean leg alone, the duo charmed their way through media interviews, a baseball game, a water festival, and even found time to host Inkigayo on SBS. Globe and Disney Philippines gave PhilSTAR L!fe a chance to witness the hype firsthand last Thursday, July 4 when we attended the film’s official fan meet at Seoul’s Jangchung Arena.

Hours before the gates opened, attendees converged on the arena en masse, sporting their finest Marvel-inspired outfits. Some even opted for full-on cosplay, with multiple Wolverines and Deadpools (and a couple of random Spider-Men) visible upon our arrival.

Everything about the event was larger than life, with the arena’s interior dominated by a raised, circular stage decked out in Deadpool’s iconic red and black. The arena’s upper levels were covered in billboard-sized posters, while a huge, illuminated display of the film’s logo rotated overhead. Bordering the stage was a designated walkway, from where the actors could interact with fans. 

Noted entertainment personality Park Kyung-lim served as master of ceremonies, warming up the audience with lively games before the time came to start the event. As the house lights dimmed, a montage of clips from the film appeared on the arena’s screens, announcing the arrival of Director Shawn Levy. As Levy stepped to the side, Reynolds and Jackman emerged to rapturous cheers – the mutants were in the house.

From there, Levy, Reynolds, and Jackman descended the stage to sign autographs, shake hands, and snap as many selfies as possible before the next part of the program.

At this point,L!fe took the chance to complement Jackman on his recent Tony-nominated run as The Music Man on Broadway, which drew a surprised smile from the actor. When asked if the erstwhile Greatest Showman would be visiting Manila, Jackman replied, “I don’t know, wish I was going there!” 

Returning to the raised stage, Jackman addressed the crowd with a hearty, “Annyeonghaseyo!” and thanked everyone for coming, while Reynolds discussed how the stars’ status as social media “frenemies” belied their strong friendship.

According to Reynolds, he knew his co-star loved him when he could spend the whole day trying to chop Jackman’s head off and still be asked to dinner with him. Of course, Reynolds added “It was only last month that he realized I’m not 'Spider-Man.'"

For Levy, who joined Deadpool & Wolverine after having already worked with both men separately (with Jackman on Real Steel, and Reynolds on Free Guy), it’s clear that any pressure stemming from helming an R-rated film in the mainline MCU was mitigated by being able to work with two icons of the genre: “The first time they were in the suits when they came out in the Deadpool red and the Wolverine yellow…I was just in love with both of them because it was like real-life heroes in front of me.”

We would expect nothing less—as Jackman said onstage, he’s been playing Wolverine for 25 years—by this point he is Wolverine, and he wouldn’t have come back if there wasn’t a compelling story to be told.

On that same measure, Reynolds first played Deadpool in 2009 (the less said about that, the better), before spending the next seven years fighting to do the character justice in his now-classic 2016 solo film and its 2018 sequel. With Deadpool & Wolverine, Reynolds has come full circle, finally appearing alongside Jackman in a movie both actors can be proud to have their names on. 

According to Reynolds, Deadpool & Wolverine makes him “the most proud I’ve certainly ever been of any movie I’ve ever done, and I just cannot wait to unleash it on Korea [and the world].”

Ultimately, the event succeeded in letting fans celebrate their love for these characters while giving the actors a chance to reveal how much fun they had in bringing them to life. If Deadpool & Wolverine exits as a labor of love from those who made it, then the fan meet stands as a validation of that love.

By the time we joined the thousands-strong crowd in waving Deadpool & Wolverine light sticks to send the stars off in true K-Pop fashion, it wasn’t because we’d just met a couple of actors—we were in the presence of superheroes, and it felt great to be a fan.

Wolverine & Deadpool opens in Philippine cinemas on July 24.