Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman mourn death of ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ art director
By Bryan Ke
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are mourning the sudden death of Raymond Chan, the art director for the upcoming film “Deadpool and Wolverine.” He was 56.
Key points:
- Chan died near his home in Wales, United Kingdom, on April 23. Marvel Studios confirmed his death in a press release the following day.
- Reynolds, 47, and Jackman, 55, penned moving tribute messages to the late Marvel art director on X and Instagram Stories, respectively, last week.
The details:
- In a joint statement, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Co-President Louis D’Esposito praised Chan as a talented collaborator known for bringing creativity and attention to detail to every movie he worked on. They described him as “the nicest human being” and expressed their devastation at his passing, offering their sincerest condolences to his family and friends.
- The entire “Deadpool and Wolverine” cast was devastated following Chan’s sudden death, according to TMZ.
- “Words are pretty inadequate in comparison to this loss. There’s an incomparable reservoir of skill, tender grit and talent no longer with us,” Reynolds wrote in part in his post on X. “I don’t pretend to know every chapter of Ray’s heart, but I know it’s unusual to encounter someone with that level of artistry, who simultaneously moved through the world with such an indelible humanity.”
- In his Instagram Stories post, Jackman said he was “forever grateful” to spend more time with Chan in the two-week reshoot they did for “Deadpool and Wolverine.” He added, “It not only gave us the opportunity to fine tune our film but it gave us the bonus of time with Ray. Time for him to finish the job he loves so much. He told a great story. And man – I am so honored to have played a role.”
About Raymond Chan:
- Born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, on Dec. 1, 1967, to immigrant parents from Hong Kong, Chan studied graphic design at the Liverpool School of Art and earned his master’s degree at Kingston Art College.
- His entry into the film industry was with the 1993 film “The Secret Rapture.” Chan began his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Thor: The Dark World” in 2013 and has since been credited as a supervising art director in multiple titles within the franchise, including “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
- Outside the MCU, Chan has also worked on “Johnny English,” “National Treasure,” “Robin Hood” and “Wrath of the Titans.”
- Having been nominated five times, Chan won two Art Directors Guild awards for “Guardians of the Galaxy” in 2015 and “Endgame” in 2020.
- He is survived by his wife, Lindsay, two sons, Caspar and Sebastian, and his daughter-in-law, Danielle.
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