Shawn Levy's Birthday Post For Ryan Reynolds Is Sweet, But The Deadpool And Wolverine BTS Photos Are Even Sweeter

Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy smiling in sunglasses while promoting Deadpool & Wolverine.
(Image credit: Photo by Mathew Tsang/Getty Images)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly releasing new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will recall that there have been some peaks and valleys in the years since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters. But Shawn Levy's Deadpool & Wolverine broke records, and the director recently shared a sweet photo dump for Ryan Reynolds' birthday. And I particularly love the BTS images of them working on that MCU flick.

Yesterday was Ryan Reynolds' birthday, with the acclaimed actor/writer/producer turning 49. He's been getting a ton of love online, including from his bestie and frequent collaborator Shawn Levy. The Stranger Things director shared the following post on Instagram, featuring some cool images of them working on Deadpool & Wolverine together. Check it out below:

How sweet is that? Clearly there's a ton of love between these two, who have worked together on a variety of projects including Free Guy, The Adam Project, and (of course) Deadpool 3. The latter is represented in the photo dump's second and fifth images, which show them working on set. We see Levy and Reynolds giggling at the TVA headquarters, as well as a shot of the actor in a battle-ravaged version of Wade Wilson's costume. Am I the only one who likes seeing how the sausage gets made via these images?

While Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman's faux feud is delightful for fans, Shawn Levy is showing nothing but love on his IG post, which was shared to his whopping 795k followers. Although Jackman does make an appearance in the photo dump, completing this trio of icons.

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Given how wildly successful Deadpool & Wolverine was, fans are eager for information about if/when Levy and Reynolds might work on a fourth installment in the R-rated franchise. For his part, Ryan Reynolds shut down the idea of jumping right back into the development stage, but another Deadpool flick seems like it'll definitely happen eventually. The question is just a matter of when. Fans are also hoping that Wade Wilson and Logan might appear in upcoming Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday and/or Secret Wars.

Shawn Levy The Adam Project

(Image credit: Netflix)

Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy met through Hugh Jackman, and the two have been working closely together for years now. And in addition to their collaboration on the aforementioned movies, they also are also good friends and even neighbors in New York City. So one can only imagine how many photos the filmmaker has that didn't make it into his birthday post.

While Reynolds and Levy's next movie seems inevitable, the latter is currently busy filming Star Wars: Starfighter, which will be the franchise's first return to theaters since The Rise of Skywalker. What's more, Reynolds is reportedly privy to the inner workings of Starfighter.

Deadpool & Wolverine is streaming now on Disney+, and Starfighter is currently expected to arrive in theaters May 28, 2027. Birthday boy Ryan Reynolds is attached to a number of upcoming projects, on the 2026 movie release list and beyond.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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