Actor Hugh Jackman, left, speaks alongside actor Ryan Reynolds, center, and director Shawn Levy, wearing Korea's traditional clothing, hanbok, during a press conference for the new action movie, "Deadpool & Wolverine," at Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman described working on and releasing Marvel's upcoming film "Deadpool & Wolverine" as their "dream come true" during their promotional visit to Korea.

The blockbuster film, set to hit the local theaters on July 24, follows the smart-mouthed superhero Deadpool (Reynolds) and the grumpy mutant Wolverine (Jackman) teaming up to fight a common enemy.

After retiring from superhero life to work as a car dealer, Deadpool is thrust back into action due to an unexpected crisis. He teams up with Wolverine, who has been recovering from injuries, forming a partnership as unpredictable as it is formidable.

Led by filmmaker Shawn Levy, who previously directed "Free Guy (2021) and the "Night at the Museum" series, the film marks the two superhero characters' first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after its former licensee, 20th Century Fox, was acquired by Disney.

"My dream for the last six years has been able to do a movie with (Jackman and Levy)," Reynolds, who also took part as the film's writer and producer, said during a press conference for the movie at Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno District, Seoul, Thursday.

"It was very, very difficult to have convinced Marvel that this was the way to come out with these characters into the MCU who had previously been in the X-Men universe."

He added, "It reaffirms that idea that you have to kind of stick to what you believe in. And I am still unbelievably surprised and I feel incredibly privileged that I get to sit here next to two of these guys."

Jackman, who is reprising the role he has played for over two decades, expressed this film felt especially meaningful.

"I've been playing Wolverine for 25 years but somehow this movie, doing it with Ryan and Shawn, who happen to be two of my best friends in the world, is a dream project. I am so proud of how the film came out," he said.

"I am so thrilled to be back playing a role that I didn't think I'd play again and I embrace it with all my heart. I've never been happier playing a role and I've never been prouder of a Wolverine movie or a movie Wolverine is in it than this one. I'm so excited for you to discover sides of the character we have not explored before."

A scene from the action movie "Deadpool & Wolverine" / Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is expected to reinvigorate the Marvel franchise following the lackluster receptions of recent releases such as "The Eternals" (2021) and "The Marvels" (2023).

Noting that he's not self-imposing such anticipation on the movie, Reynolds said the intention of the movie is to offer pure entertainment to the audience.

"Marvel hit a bit of a rougher patch maybe than normal. They required a little bit of a reset, and suddenly that storyline became ultra-relevant more externally than for us. I don't know about that aspect but that's not what we're here to do," he said.

"When the three of us set out to make this film, we had a very specific north star and that was to deliver unbridled joy and audacity to audiences to delight audiences all over the world. I personally have found that the best and most powerful magic in all of storytelling in the modern day and age, particularly the last five to 10 years, has been joy, and that's what we did here. That's the only objective: to create as much joy as humanly possible. And I think it reads on camera because, for us, it's a dream come true for us all to work together."

Levy hinted the movie would deliver a message about friendship by bringing together the two iconic but unlikely Marvel characters.

"I think all of us have embraced these iconic heroes and their actors for years. So to be able to unify them in a story that has action and humor and heart and to make a summer blockbuster, putting them on screen for the first time co-starring, was a privilege," he said.

"It's a movie about friendship that starts off with conflict but evolves into connection. And it was made by three people who enjoyed that connection."