NYCC 2024: Deadpool & Wolverine"s Leslie Uggams On Joining The MCU, Blind Al"s Dynamic With Logan & Fallout Season 2

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Leslie Uggams is back as everyone"s favorite sightless sidekick in Deadpool & Wolverine. Prior to joining Fox"s X-Men subfranchise, Uggams was arguably best known for her work in the original Roots miniseries, for which she earned both an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination, as well as her Tony-winning turn in Hallelujah, Baby! and her general music career. Around the time of starring in the first Deadpool as the titular hero"s blind roommate, Al, Uggams also started to enjoy a resurgence with her recurring role in Empire as the mother to Terrence Howard"s Lucious Lyon.
Deadpool & Wolverine"s story picks up six years after the events of its predecessor, with Ryan Reynolds" Wade having been dumped by Vanessa and moved back in with Blind Al. During the titular hero"s birthday party, he"s taken by the Time Variance Authority and learns that his timeline is about to be erased due to the lack of its anchor being, Logan, though is invited to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe"s Sacred Timeline. Instead, he sets off to try and track down a worthy Wolverine in the hopes of keeping his friends and the people he loves alive.

Related Every Wolverine Variant In Deadpool & Wolverine Explained Several Wolverine variants pop up in Deadpool & Wolverine, celebrating the character’s history both on-screen and in the pages of Marvel Comics.
Alongside Reynolds and Uggams, the ensemble Deadpool & Wolverine cast features a mix of new and returning faces, including Hugh Jackman as Logan, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Aaron Stanford and Matthew Macfadyen, among others. Much like its two predecessors, the third Deadpool movie quickly rose to become one of the most-talked about box office hits of the year, not only holding the second-highest-grossing spot of 2024 with a worldwide haul of over $1.34 billion, but also reclaiming the highest-grossing R-rated movie title for the franchise after the first Joker took it.
In honor of this year"s New York Comic Con, Screen Rant interviewed Leslie Uggams to discuss Deadpool & Wolverine, how she feels about getting to join the MCU, what she thinks Blind Al actually thinks about Logan and his potentially moving in with the duo, which characters she"d like to get to interact with in the future, and some exciting updates on Fallout season 2.
Uggams Knew Deadpool & Wolverine Would Be Successful "...but not like that."

Screen Rant: You were in Deadpool & Wolverine, one of the biggest movies of the year, the highest-grossing R-rated movie, the second-highest grossing movie of 2024, and it has excellent reviews critically and commercially. Could you anticipate that kind of reaction when you and the crew were shooting the film?

Leslie Uggams: Absolutely not. I mean, I knew it was going to be successful, but not like that. I mean, that"s amazing. I"m in it, I"m in it! But, the way the fans have just embraced this movie has been spectacular.

Uggams Didn't Get To Watch The Deadpool Corps Fight Directly (But Knows What She Wants Next) "...[Ryan] always wants to isolate me."

Now, Blind Al was seen looking out of her window as she was listening to the final battle with the Deadpool Corps. Did you get to witness any of the action with Ryan or Hugh filming on set? What was your reaction to that scene? And did you have any other favorite big moments from that film?

Leslie Uggams: Well, I didn"t get to really see that part because they had all the people and everything like that, but I knew that certain things that I had to say would be totally appropriate for that moment. [Laughs]

Now that Deadpool is a part of the MCU, albeit in another universe, are there any other characters you"d like to see Blind Al interact with in the Sacred Timeline?

Leslie Uggams: My best moments are with Wade, or Deadpool, so I"m kind of jealous of other people. I have to say that Wolverine"s okay, but Wade was my guy. That"s my guy! A little jealousy going on there. "You"re taking up too much of his time."

Now, you"ve met the X-Man, Wolverine, but are there any other X-Men characters you"d like to see Blind Al meet?

Leslie Uggams: Oh, gosh, they"re all so wonderful. I wouldn"t mind seeing Blade.

Out of curiosity, was there ever a scene that had Wesley, you and Channing all together?

Leslie Uggams: I wish. No. No. That would"ve been awesome. They"re all such great characters and to have a scene with them [would"ve been great], but you know, he always wants to isolate me. He goes out and has fun and leaves me in the house.

Uggams & Reynolds' Relationship Has Grown Ever Warmer Since The First Deadpool "...it was instantaneous that we had this connection."

What were some of the things that were left on the cutting room floor that you said in that film that didn"t make it?

Leslie Uggams: Well, it probably was some more stuff about cocaine, but I think we had enough about that. So, they probably cut a little bit of that, but pretty much when it comes to my character, they let me roll really. So, it"s great, because that"s Blind Al.

Was there a lot of improv between the two of you?

Leslie Uggams: There always is. We have the basic script and everything, but out of it comes craziness that"s even better than what"s on the page.

Now, you and Ryan seem to have an incredible relationship, and you were even the first character confirmed for Deadpool 3. Can you talk about the evolution of your working relationship as these movies have progressed with Ryan?

Leslie Uggams: Well, the first time we worked together, we were kind of feeling each other out, but it was instantaneous that we had this connection. And I remember after we filmed the first one, I was getting undressed to go back home, and he knocked on the trailer door, and he said, "Oh my God, I just love working with you." So, I knew right then and there that we had something going. And, of course, as we did the second and the third, we"re even more comfortable. But I love it, because he"ll come to me and say, "Leslie, do you mind saying this?" And I go, "No, let"s go!" [Chuckles]

Blind Al's Not Ready To Invite Wolverine As A Roommate Yet "...there's nothing in the world better than Deadpool and that relationship..."

How does Blind Al feel about Wolverine as a new roommate?

Leslie Uggams: Well, he"s okay. He"s all right. I mean, there"s nothing in the world better than Deadpool and that relationship, so she"s kind of like the mama in a way. He can tell her anything and stuff like that, and they like to kid each other so well. [Wolverine"s] kind of in the way, but it"s okay because he is fine. I mean, you can"t complain about those muscles. I mean, they"re definitely there. He"s a good-looking man. Blind Al, she may be blind, but she ain"t dead!
Hugh"s an incredible actor, but he"s also an incredible human being. When we first got on the set, he wanted to know about my career working with Ella Fitzgerald and people like that. That"s what we talked about most of the time. He"d go, "Oh my God. You worked with Ella, and you worked with Louis [Gossett Jr.]," and stuff like that. So, we had a lovely rapport. And he"s so good in this. So good!

Now, Deadpool doesn"t often use Althea"s full name in movies. Can you explain the significance of him using Al"s full name at the end of the movie to introduce her to Wolverine, as he also introduced Logan with his real name?

Leslie Uggams: Yeah. Well, I think it"s also to remind people, because they"re so used to our character names that they forget what our real names are. I always think he does it really to give her a little jab by using her full name, because you notice when I first meet Wolverine, I"m smiling and everything, but I"m thinking, "He"s not moving in or anything." So, it"s kind of like a little message that he"s kind of given.

Uggams Is Thrilled To Return For Fallout Season 2 (Which May Be Sooner Than Some Thought) "...Betty's got some things up her sleeve."

Now, listen, you"re also a part of the Fallout universe on Prime Video, which saw incredible reviews this year. Was there anything specific about that story that stood out to you? And is there anything that you want to see from your character in season 2?

Leslie Uggams: That is an amazing, amazing show. I am with the Vault People, so I didn"t get to see what the Earth people were doing. So when it came on, I was blown away. But Betty"s got some things up her sleeve. Just stay tuned.

Have you guys already started shooting season 2?

Leslie Uggams: We start in November. I"m excited about it.

Is there anything else you can tease that you"ve got coming up?

Leslie Uggams: Right now, those are the things. People may not know it, but I do sing, and so I have a few of those things that I do in New York, and I"ll do a concert or something like that, but basically I"ve become the action star. [Laughs]

About Deadpool & Wolverine Close Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date – Deadpool & Wolverine. A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. When his home world faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit up again with an even more reluctantlier... reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a reluctant Wolverine to... oh hell, just watch the movie. Synopses are stupid.
Check out our previous Deadpool & Wolverine interviews with:

Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman & Shawn Levy
Aaron Stanford
Emma Corrin & Matthew Macfadyen
Kevin Feige
Wendy Jacobson
Dan Macarin
Dean Zimmerman & Shane Reid

Deadpool & Wolverine is now available on digital platforms, 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD!
Source: Screen Rant Plus

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8/10 151 9.3/10 Deadpool & Wolverine R Action Sci-FiComedySuperhero A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
Director Shawn Levy Release Date July 26, 2024 Studio(s) Marvel , Maximum Effort Distributor(s) Disney Writers Rhett Reese , Paul Wernick , Shawn Levy , Ryan Reynolds , Zeb Wells , Rob Liefeld , Fabian Nicieza Cast Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , Emma Corrin , Morena Baccarin , Rob Delaney , Leslie Uggams , Karan Soni , Matthew Macfadyen , Brianna Hildebrand , Shioli Kutsuna , Stefan Kapicic , Lewis Tan , Randal Reeder , Jennifer Garner , Aaron Stanford , Billy Clements , Ollie Palmer , Chris Hemsworth , Rob McElhenney Character(s) Deadpool , Wolverine , Cassandra Nova , Vanessa Carlysle , Peter , Blind Al , Dopinder , Mr. Paradox , Negasonic Teenage Warhead , Pinkie Pie , Colossus , Shatterstar , Buck , Elektra Natchios , Pyro , Russian , Bar Patron , Thor , TVA Minuteman Runtime 127 Minutes Franchise(s) Deadpool , Marvel Cinematic Universe prequel(s) Deadpool , Deadpool 2 Main Genre Action Expand Upcoming MCU Movies