Shawn Levy has taken inspiration from ‘Star Wars’ for a key scene in ‘Deadpool 3’.
The 55-year-old filmmaker reflected on the magic of watching a movie in a busy theatre and recalled how he repeatedly watched 1983’s ‘Return of the Jedi’ when it came out and will never forget the collective audience response, and admitted he wants to do something similar with the latest installment of the Ryan Reynolds-starring franchise.
He wrote in an essay for Esquire magazine: “I went to the theatre again and again to see ‘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.
“Suddenly Vader has pushed the wrong button. Luke comes screaming out of the shadows and just goes to town in a light saber battle against Vader.
“The way that felt: The forty seconds of stillness from the audience, then the spectacle and emotion, is seared not just in my eyeballs but in my heart.”
Shawn – who is developing his own ‘Star Wars’ movie – returned to the scene during filming of ‘Deadpool 3’ and avidly studied every element of how it was structured.
He added: “I’m now making ‘Deadpool 3’, the production of which was paused because of the actors’ strike. For one key scene in the movie, I said to my stunt and action team, ‘Guys, this is the Jedi moment.’
“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.
“The keen ‘Star Wars’ fan will see the shot in my ‘Deadpool’ movie that was inspired by a moment that I saw in a theatre decades ago. That’s a forever memory. And that’s a treasure.”