Real-life friends Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have been embroiled in a ‘feud’ for years, but Real Steel director Shawn Levy is confident he can bring the two stars together in a film.
While promoting Free Guy, a film he directed and in which Reynolds stars, Levy said he will ultimately get Reynolds and Jackman in a movie, whether it’s in a Real Steel sequel or not.
“Well, I’ll say this, Hugh and I definitely are feeling, we’ve never stopped feeling the love for Real Steel, and it’s almost like the volume has been increasing. Hugh and I were together literally last week talking about that,” Levy said. “So I would never say never on that, a sequel for Real Steel. Additionally, I’m friends with Hugh. I’m friends with Ryan. I will get them together. Whether it’s in Real Steel or another movie, I will direct those two amazing guys and dear friends in a movie together.”
Earlier in the week, Levy said he had spoken with Jackman, who starred in the 2011 film, about the rejuvenation of Real Steel after it began streaming on Netflix in September 2020. Levy said they would not rule out a sequel for the movie, although he did admit that it felt like the “clock had run out” on capitalizing on the movie’s success.
Although Reynolds had no part in Real Steel, he has maintained a relationship with Jackman since they first worked together on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a movie in which Reynolds portrayed Wade Wilson for the first time. He would later star in two Deadpool movies as Wilson, and within the movies, Reynolds made jokes at the expense of Jackman’s Wolverine character, although Jackman did make a post-credits scene appearance in Deadpool 2.
With the way the actors have poked fun at each other, it would not be a surprise to see Reynolds or Jackman work together in the near future—even in a Real Steel sequel.