紐時賞析／集賣座元素於一身 「死侍與金鋼狼」開拍之路為何如此艱難？

萊恩．雷諾斯（左）與休．傑克曼在成爲主要流行文化人物的路上學到很多，引導他們合拍「死侍與金鋼狼」。（紐約時報）

The Perks and Pitfalls of Playing Superheroes

扮演超級英雄的好處與壞處

If there’s a magic formula for Hollywood success, “Deadpool & Wolverine” would appear to have refined it to a simple calculation: Just add Hugh Jackman’s “X-Men” superhero to the hit comic franchise anchored by Ryan Reynolds and reap the sure-to-be-lucrative dividends.

如果好萊塢的成功有一個神奇公式，「死侍與金鋼狼」是很簡單的算式：把休．傑克曼主演的超級英雄「X戰警」加入萊恩．雷諾斯主演的熱門漫畫系列電影，肯定可以大賺一筆。

So why did a film that’s projected to be the summer’s biggest live-action blockbuster prove so difficult to get off the ground?

那麼，爲何一部預計成爲今夏最賣座的真人主演的大片，竟如此難以開拍呢？

Although Reynolds had pitched a team-up to his close friend for years, Jackman initially resisted, preferring to let the well-reviewed “Logan” (2017) stand as his swan song with the gruff mutant Wolverine. And while the merger of Disney and Fox allowed Reynolds to set the third “Deadpool” movie starring his R-rated mercenary in the previously off-limits Marvel Cinematic Universe, he struggled to come up with a story that could capitalize on that opportunity. “It was just hard to find the thing that felt right,” Reynolds said.

儘管雷諾斯已經向他的摯友力推組隊好幾年了，傑克曼一開始抗拒，偏向讓廣獲好評的「羅根」（2017）充當他跟粗獷變種人金鋼狼的告別作。雖然迪士尼併購福斯後，讓雷諾斯有可能進入曾被列爲角色個人禁區漫威電影宇宙，着手製作限制的「死侍」第3集，但他找不到可以乘勝追擊的故事。雷諾斯說：「合適的劇本實在很難找」。

In August 2022, just as Reynolds and director Shawn Levy debated putting their sequel on ice, Jackman placed a surprise call and told them he was willing to give his signature role one more go. “There’s parts of Wolverine that I scratched around and wanted to explore, but I wasn’t able to,” Jackman said. “In this film, there’s sides of him that I’ve always wanted to get out.”

2022年8月，正當雷諾斯和導演薛恩．李維討論是否暫時擱置拍攝計劃時，傑克曼意外來電，表示他願意重出江湖詮釋招牌角色。傑克曼表示，「我一直嘗試搜尋探索金鋼狼的其他面向，卻無功而返」。他說，「在這部電影裡，我呈現出一直希望展現的金鋼狼面向」。

On a video call in late June, both men had plenty to say about the long arc of portraying and eventually becoming the steward of major pop-cultural characters. Reynolds waged an uphill battle to make the first “Deadpool” film (2016), which was greenlit only after leaked test footage became an internet sensation. Off its modest $58 million budget, the movie grossed $782.8 million worldwide and gave Reynolds his first real franchise.

6月下旬一次視訊通話，對於扮演與最終成爲主要流行文化人物代表的漫長心路歷程，兩個男人有很多要說。拍攝第一部「惡棍英雄：死侍」電影（2016），雷諾斯備感艱辛，外泄的預告片網路爆紅後，片商才點頭開拍。以不算多的5800萬美元預算，在全球票房爲7.828億美元，也爲雷諾斯帶來第一部真正系列電影。

“I was an actor who was semi-well-known,” said Reynolds, who added jokingly, “I don’t know how you would phrase that without sounding like a dink. But I was 37 when ‘Deadpool’ had its pop-culture phenomenon moment, and I’m really grateful I was because I knew exactly how to enjoy it.”

雷諾斯戲稱，「當時我是一個說紅不紅的演員，我不曉得還有沒有其他方式可以描述這一處境，而不會讓人感覺像個混蛋。但當『惡棍英雄：死侍』成爲流行文化現象時，我已經37歲了，我完全可以體會個中滋味，所以我真的很感激」。

While the first film was in theaters, he stood in a hotel room overlooking Los Angeles — “this place that I’d been busting my ass in for 18 years at that point” — and remembered feeling an appreciation for the series of small successes and false starts that led him to what now felt like superstardom.

當第一部電影在電影院上映時，他站在一間俯瞰洛杉磯的飯店房間裡，「那時我已經在這個地方一直拚命工作了18年」──這一路走來的小得小失，到他現在覺得是超級巨星的地位，回憶滿是感激。

文／Kyle Buchanan　譯／周辰陽