Director Shawn Levy Reveals a Key “Deadpool 3” Scene Was Inspired by Iconic “Star Wars” Moment

Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy is not the first—or even the four hundredth—director to be inspired by Star Wars, but he’s in a particularly fortuitous position to deploy his inspiration to spectacular effect. Levy’s upcoming Marvel Studios film, which finds Ryan Reynolds’ titular antihero mixing it up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (resurrected for the new film despite dying in James Mangold’s 2017 epic Logan), is the franchise’s first film under the Marvel banner. Levy also happens to be working on a Star Wars project, one in which he’s said that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has implored him to create a meaningful Shawn Levy story in the Star Wars galaxy rather than try to change his storytelling voice to suit some platonic ideal of a Star Wars film. So, the man is deeply invested in the Star Wars world.

As Levy explained to Esquire, he found himself recalling a specific, iconic Star Wars moment while working on Deadpool 3 and was compelled to share the scene with his collaborators in the middle of filming. Levy describes his memory of seeing Return of the Jedi in 1983 and how one moment in particular created “pin-drop silence” in the theater. That moment was the showdown between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. It’s the scene in “which Luke is hiding from Vader in the Emperor’s room, and Vader gives the speech that ends with ‘If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps your sister will,’” as Levy said to Esquire.

This moment stuck with Levy for decades. In the middle of making Deadpool 3, it came back to him. Levy explained:

“For one key scene in the movie, I said to my stunt and action team, ‘Guys, this is the Jedi moment.’ I pulled up that scene of Vader and Luke on my phone and restudied how it was photographed, how it was blocked, the framing, the tempo. The keen Star Wars fan will see the shot in my Deadpool movie that was inspired by a moment that I saw in a theater decades ago. That’s a forever memory. And that’s a treasure.”

Deadpool 3 is currently about halfway through filming, although it was paused on account of the writer’s and actor’s strikes. As negotiations continue on the actor’s strike this week, there’s hope a resolution is coming soon and productions far and wide, including Deadpool 3, can begin.

For more on Deadpool 3, check out these stories:

“Deadpool 3” Director Shawn Levy Confirms Crucial Wolverine Backstory

Director Shawn Levy on Synchronicity Between His “Deadpool 3” and Secret “Star Wars” Movie

“Deadpool 3” Director Shawn Levy Says Prepare for Epic Wolverine/Deadpool Team-Up

Jennifer Garner Joining “Deadpool 3” Cast as Elektra Adds Yet More Star Power

Featured image: L-r: Ryan Reynolds is Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Hugh Jackman is Logan/Wolverine in “Deadpool 3.” Courtesy Ryan Reynolds/Marvel Studios