Kevin Feige rejected Ryan Reynolds’ first idea for Deadpool 3, and the Marvel actor comments on the several other iterations the movie went through.

Deadpool & Wolverine went through quite a few iterations before getting approved. The movie will be the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to star characters who came from the Fox deal. Shockingly, Ryan Reynolds managed to convince Hugh Jackman to co-lead Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cast after the actor had seemingly ended his time in the role with 2017’s Logan. However, it seems like Jackman came in pretty late into the process of figuring out what the third Deadpool movie would be about.

Speaking to Empire, Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Feige talked about the long process of getting Deadpool & Wolverine‘s story right and the many rejected pitches for the MCU movie. Feige turned down Reynolds’ first pitch of a Rashomon-like story where the movie’s plot would be told through three different perspectives. Reynolds would then pitch around twenty more ideas for the film. Those included stories with all kinds of budgets and scope. In the end, executive producer Wendy Jacobson revealed the movie took form very quickly when Jackman came on board. Check out the full quote below:

“Reynolds: [A] Rashomon story about Wolverine and Deadpool and something that they got into together, but told from three completely different perspectives. It was a way to make a large-scale movie in a very small way.

Feige: The truth is, I wasn’t even sure how to incorporate Deadpool yet. I was very much thinking about how to bring mutants and the X-Men into [the MCU], and I thought it needed to be more than just playing the hits. But the truth is, Ryan is an idea machine. So he may have pitched that to me, but he also pitched 25 other thoughts and ideas.

Reynolds: I went back to the drawing board, and I wrote up about 18 different treatments. Some of them almost like a Sundance film, a budget of under $10 million, sort of using the IP in a way that they previously hadn’t used, and I pitched bigger movies, and I pitched things in-between.

Jacobson: We definitely spun our wheels a little bit trying to find the reason for this movie to be. Once Hugh raised his hand, two months later we were prepping. It was honestly one of the fastest turnarounds I’ve ever seen.”

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has teased Deadpool & Wolverine’s mind-blowing post-credits scene, and there are exciting scenarios for the MCU film.

Why It’s Good That Ryan Reynolds’ Other Ideas For Deadpool & Wolverine Didn’t Work Out

The New MCU Movie Ties Into The Larger Multiverse Saga Stor

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s trailers are already breaking Marvel and MCU records. That shows how excited fans are for the upcoming MCU movie. Based on the excellent reception to the footage that has been revealed from the movie and the electrifying chemistry that Jackman and Reynolds share as their Marvel characters, it is for the best that the other iterations of the movie fell through. While a Rashomon-like story would fit Deadpool’s style, the first MCU film to focus on mutants needed to be presented as a major event, not a more out-there idea.

That also connects to another part of Reynolds’ reveal of past pitches for Deadpool & Wolverine. The actor talked about how there were ideas that went for a budget of under $10 million to deliver a different kind of superhero story. That would not be the most exciting plan for the first MCU film based on mutants. Deadpool, Wolverine, and the other X-Men characters confirmed for the film deserved to have their powers represented on the biggest scale possible, with such a momentous occasion in MCU history having to go big, not small like other franchises could have benefited from.

Adding to that, Deadpool & Wolverine has emerged as the perfect movie to tie into the wider Multiverse Saga. Reynolds’ other story ideas for the film sound like smaller, more personal arcs. Deadpool & Wolverine could have that — with Wolverine trying to make up for a past tragedy — and expand the MCU in a major way alongside Loki‘s TVA and more. The movie is rumored to include several cameos, with many already confirmed. With Jackman coming into the picture, Deadpool & Wolverine became the ultimate way to continue Reynolds’ franchise and expand the MCU’s multiverse story.