Method Studios was thrilled when, after working on the opening sequence of Deadpool 2, they were invited back to suggest titles for the opening sequence of Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine. In early January, director Shawn Levy contacted Method from the Deadpool film set in London, gave an overview of his title wishes, and then simply said, “We’re looking for ideas.”
Shortly thereafter, Marvel sent over a very early cut of the fight sequence, set to the ’90s pop song “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC. From the first moments of the cut, the teams knew this was going to be a truly epic opening to the film. At this point in the process, only some of the sequence’s credits were in place, and Method’s job was to figure out how to creatively incorporate all 30 required credits to complete the opening title, working with the other vendors providing the opening credits’ visual effects.
Since this fast-paced fight scene deserves more than just a simple credits roll, the teams wanted to explore the idea of putting the credits right in the middle of the action, and even getting in the way at some points. For example, when we see Deadpool kick his opponent, we see him kick through part of the credits as well, or his victims crash into the typography, scattering it around the scene.
“My favorite aspect of the Deadpool movies is his ability to break the fourth wall and become hyper-aware that he’s in the middle of an action scene in a Marvel movie. I had a strong feeling that if Deadpool consciously knew that this fight scene was going to cut to Bye Bye Bye, he might feel compelled to bust out some of the iconic NSYNC dance moves while killing the bad guys,” commented John Likens, Executive Creative Director at Method.
To pitch the idea to producers Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy, Likens taught himself the Bye Bye Bye choreography via YouTube videos and recorded the moves in a motion capture suit. He then re-pointed the mocap data to the previs Deadpool character rig and added animated handheld camera movements to make it feel like footage from a music video. A lot of creative thinking went into what kind of environment the dance moments would take place in, but the stylized hyper-real forest scene was everyone’s favorite. Ryan and Shawn thought it was hilarious, laughed their heads off at the idea, and knew immediately it would work. Shawn told us, “This is a one-of-a-kind idea and you guys nailed it!”
Likens knew that the compositions not only had to get laughs, but were also perfect for the credits, which had to be displayed with multiple names on top of each other. For this film, five writers had to be credited at once!
This sequence was also unique in that it involved multiple vendors working together on different elements. The title sequence was a hands-on affair and received praise from fans online, with many saying it was the highlight of the film and the best opening sequence in a superhero film.
Marvel Studios’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” is now in theaters worldwide.
