Thanks to IMAX and Fox, last week I got to do something incredibly cool: I moderated a Q&A with director Tim Miller, producer Simon Kinberg, and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld following our special screening at IMAX HQ.

As I have said many times, I absolutely loved Deadpool and think everyone involved deserves a round of applause for getting the tone, rating, action, and characters right. All too often studios play it safe when it comes to adult material, but that didn’t happen with Deadpool. Fox deserves a huge amount of credit for making a hard R superhero movie and not shying away from everything that makes Deadpool great. While Hollywood can be obsessed with franchises and sequels even when they’re not needed, this is one of those properties I can’t wait to see more of, and I hope after Deadpool 2 we finally get to see an X-Force movie!

During the post screening Q&A Miller, Kinberg and Liefeld talked about IMAX, the film’s budget, the rating, the tone, Stan Lee’s reaction to watching the film, why some of T.J. Miller’s jokes had to be taken out, the state of superhero movies, how there is no director’s cut of the film but there are deleted scenes, including more from the workshop fight, what other Fox superhero movies could have an R rating, and so much more.

Check out what they had to say below. As usual I’ve listed what we talked about below the video. Finally, if you missed our previous IMAX screenings, here’s the post screening Q&A with Francis Lawrence for The Hunger Games and here’s Joe and Anthony Russo talking about Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Tim Miller, Simon Kinberg and Rob Liefeld

  • 0:35 – Miller praises the IMAX format and Kinberg reveals that Deadpool is the first Fox film to be shot for an IMAX release
  • 2:25 – Miller talks about the long road to development for the film
  • 3:45 - Kinberg talks about coming on board, the film’s budget, and its R rating
  • 4:55 – Miller reveals who might have leaked some test footage for Deadpool
  • 6:35 – Miller talks about his non-traditional approach to pursuing studio execs to get the movie made
  • 8:20 – Kinberg addresses the tone of the Deadpool film with respect to the tone of Liefeld’s comics
  • 9:40 – Liefeld weighs in on the state of superhero movies and contrasts them to Deadpool
  • 10:45 – Liefeld talks about the influence of R-rated films on his childhood
  • 11:50 – Liefeld reveals Stan Lee’s reaction to watching the film
  • 13:30 – They reveal memorable behind-the-scenes moments with Ryan Reynolds
  • 19:55 – Miller confirms that there’s no director’s cut of the film, but there are deleted scenes, including more from the workshop fight, and a gag reel featuring T.J. Miller and Reynolds’ improv
  • 22:25 – Miller and Kinberg talk about the excellent marketing campaign
  • 24:50 – Miller talks about some of T.J. Miller’s jokes that he had to take out because they referenced actual people
  • 26:25 – Kinberg comments on the decision to make Deadpool hard R and the difficulty of editing an “airplane” version
  • 27:40 – Miller elaborates on cutting a PG-13 version of the film
  • 29:00 – Kinberg looks back on superhero movies from the early 2000s as game-changers
  • 29:50 – Miller commented on Marvel Studios’ inability to do a film like Deadpool due to Disney’s ownership
  • 30:45 – Kinberg comments on other properties in the X-Men universe that could have R ratings, like “X-Force”