‘That was a Blake note’: Blake Lively demanded a new ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ ending, so Ryan Reynolds said ‘yes, my queen’ and reshot it

Whatever you might think of Deadpool & Wolverine and its status as a piece of cinema, the fact it was a labor of love for a bunch of close friends and trusted collaborators shines out of the screen in every frame. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, best buds in real life, both worked with director Shawn Levy multiple times before, and we all know by now that Ryan sneaked the entire Reynolds fam into the film.

While Inez Reynolds portrayed Kidpool and Olin Reynolds was Babypool, Blake Lively showed up as the voice of Lady Deadpool. It turns out that wasn’t her only role in the movie, though, as she also suggested a key change to the blockbuster threequel’s conclusion that ended up being the only reason that Deadpool 3 had any reshoots at all. Say what you like about Ryan Reynolds, but if his wife wants something, he makes sure she gets it.

On the film’s audio commentary track, Levy stresses how “very proud” he is that Deadpool & Wolverine only required “a day and a half” of reshoots — it’s typical for Marvel movies to go back before cameras for weeks or even months after test screening necessitate changes. The director reveals that the speech Agent Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) makes after Wade and Logan supposedly perish was a last-minute addition. And it was all Lively’s idea.

“And credit where credit is due,” Levy explained. “It used to be that there was no suspense, that the power room blew up, and our heroes had survived. And it was Blake Lively who said to us, ‘You know, I’ve been with you this whole movie. I want to sit in the fear that they’re lost. Let me be in that place of suspense so the triumph of their survival is more emotional and visceral.'”

It sounds like Levy is forever grateful for Lively making that suggestion, as he admits it totally changed his perspective on the scene and improved the emotional oomph of the movie’s ending:

“That was a Blake note and it really opened up a new way of thinking about this part of the movie and it’s why we did this reshoot… and, here, the payoff is so much more satisfying,” Levy concluded.

This isn’t the first time we’ve found out how involved Reynolds and Lively are in each other’s movies. The Gossip Girl icon previously revealed that a key sequence from her recent — and controversial — romantic drama It Ends With Us was written by Reynolds himself. That’s despite him having nothing to do with that film, whereas at least Lively played Ladypool in DP3.

Given how much impact Blake had on Deadpool & Wolverine, let’s hope she gets to return in an expanded role as Lady Deadpool — aka Wanda Wilson — in Deadpool 4. Don’t expect that to happen just yet, however, as Reynolds had the perfect response when asked about doing another Marvel production: “I have four kids that I wouldn’t mind introducing myself to at some point.” We know he’s kidding because clearly Ryan has mastered the art of turning work time into family time.