Ryan Reynolds says Deadpool and Wolverine's original title was shelved 24 hours before its reveal after fans who saw the leak "f***ing hated it"

Deadpool and Wolverine really rolls off the tongue, but it actually wasn’t meant to be the title for the Marvel Phase 5 buddy comedy.

As revealed by co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Deadpool and Wolverine was originally set to be called... Deadpool and Friend.

But 24 hours before Deadpool and Wolverine’s Super Bowl trailer, news of the title leaked onto the internet – and plans dramatically changed.

"The title leaked and we looked at it and listened [to the fans]. And they fucking hated that title," Reynolds revealed. "We were not feeling so good about that anymore."

Reynolds added of Deadpool and Friend, "It went with the trailer we were showing, it was the perfect title for the first piece of materials we had out there. [Director] Shawn Levy… he and I had been sitting in the editing room and we called everybody at Disney and Marvel and said, ‘We have to change the title.’"

"We wouldn’t take no for an answer," Reynolds recalled. “We’re like, ‘We’re changing the title. I will never call this movie Deadpool and Friend!’ And they did it. They literally changed the title."

Deadpool and Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen, is out now in the UK and will hit cinemas in the US on July 26. The movie will have a presence at San Diego Comic-Con as part of a bumper SDCC 2024 schedule. We have all the latest on that (and more) in our SDCC 2024 live blog.

For more from the MCU, out guide to upcoming Marvel movies and shows maps out the multiverse's exciting future. Still playing catch up? You'll need our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.