In a new interview in Empire magazine’s Deadpool & Wolverine feature issue, it looks like director Shawn Levy is putting some distance between his upcoming movie and recent failures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Marvel Studios’ last theatrical outing was 2023’s The Marvels, its lowest-grossing movie to date; that year also saw the release of the drubbed Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 

On the small screen, Loki‘s second season was heralded by critics, but Secret Invasion was decidedly not. 

Louis D’Esposito, co-president of Marvel Studios, says in the issue, “We learned our lesson.”

“You’d have to live under a rock not to know that the last few Marvel movies have failed to ignite the world in the way that so many did,” Levy says.

He says of his film’s July 26 release date, “We do come along at an interesting time.”

Indeed, the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine has Ryan Reynolds‘ red-suited hero tasked with doing nothing less than saving the Marvel Cinematic Universe, boasting, “I am Marvel Jesus.”

Levy insists the movie is “decidedly something different” from the studio, snarking, “Whether it is of Messianic proportions, time will tell.”

Some fans have griped about recent MCU outings feeling like there is required reading to fully enjoy them, but Levy recently told The Associated Press Deadpool & Wolverine will not. 

“I was a good student in school. … But I am definitely not looking to do homework when I go to the movies,” he said, adding that while he respects the MCU lore that came before, “This movie is built for entertainment, with no obligation to come prepared with prior research.”

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