Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy is using a key Star Wars scene as the inspiration for what he wants to do in his new film.
In an essay for Esquire, Levy wrote about the magic of watching a film in a packed theater. To illustate, he recalled a Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader interaction in 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
“I vividly remember the scene in which Luke is hiding from Vader in the Emperor’s room and Vader gives the speech that ends with ‘If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps your sister will.’ It was dead quiet. Pin-drop silence,” Levy wrote. He said that the “forty seconds of stillness from the audience, then the spectacle and emotion,” remains seared, “not just in my eyeballs, but in my heart to this day.”
He said he used that memory when filming a key scene in Deadpool 3.
“For one key scene in the movie, I said to my stunt and action team, ‘Guys, this is the Jedi moment,’” he said. “I pulled up that scene of Vader and Luke on my phone and restudied how it was photographed, how it was blocked, the framing, the tempo.”
Levy said fans will be able to “see the shot in my Deadpool movie” that inspired him all those years ago. He added, “That’s a forever memory. And that’s a treasure.”
Levy is actually developing his own Star Wars film. Meanwhile, Deadpool 3 is currently set to be released in theaters on May 3, 2024. However, production halted with the SAG-AFTRA strike, so it remains to be seen if that date will hold.
