Deadpool’s no ordinary comic book character, and the usual rules of movie marketing are as irrelevant to him as the rules of other superhero films. While the first Deadpool’s hugely successful advertising campaign was raucous, its sequel has gone all-out in its increasingly unhinged attempts to spread the word about Wade Wilson’s return. With Deadpool 2 now out in the world — and on the cover of Empire’s Summer Movie Blowout issue, available online here — here’s a look at the carefully choreographed madness that Ryan Reynolds and his superhero alter-ego (honestly, they’re basically the same person at this point) have blessed us with in the past few months.
Ryan Reynolds Does Unicorn Karaoke
With the film out this week, Reynolds has cranked the oddness up several notches: this weekend he appeared on Korean TV show King of Masked Singer in a unicorn mask, where he gave a note-perfect performance of Tomorrow from Annie in secret. It’s a rendition so soaring that even Celine Dion should be proud (see below).
Apologising to David Beckham
David Beckham is people too — and it turns out he’s super hurt about what Deadpool said about him in the first film (reminder: “It’s like he mouth-sexed a can of helium!”) The Merc with a Heart sets out to appease the football icon with cookies, balloons, a mariachi band, and World Cup tickets in this video. Beckham’s just lucky Wade didn’t bring up his dreadful King Arthur cameo. BOFE ‘ANDS.
#WadeWilsonDemandsYourSister
First Thanos demanded your silence over Avengers: Infinity War spoilers. Then Ryan Reynolds posted a note on Twitter demanding that “you don’t say a f_ing word about the fun s_” in Deadpool 2, including Wade Wilson’s death. So we won’t spoil that bit.
Deadpool vs. Eurovision
The majesty of the Eurovision Song Contest (or, the ‘European Sing-Song Competition Thing’) is finally getting more recognition outside Europe, and everyone wants in on the action — including Deadpool. He puts forward a strong case here for Canada’s eligibility and, honestly, we’d love to hear the Merc with a Mouth go full-on Eurocheese.
Celine Dion feat. Deadpool
James Cameron knows a thing or two about making killer sequels — so Deadpool 2 is stealing from the best with a tie-in single from Celine Dion. The Canadian diva’s song is an entirely sincere ballad with an equally straight-faced video — until a high-heeled ‘Pool sashays in and pirouettes around a dramatically-lit stage.
Getting Wet on Wet
Deadpool 2’s first trailer featured the usual early teaser tropes: brief glimpses of footage, slo-mo shots of returning heroes, and a couple of explosions to whet fan appetites. But those conventional elements were book-ended by a sketch with a tripped-out DP wearing a giant Bob Ross afro, painting beautiful Canadian vistas, and ‘whacking off’ his paint brushes.
Good Housekeeping: The Deadpool Edition
Look, we’re not bitter about it or anything but Good Housekeeping got Mr. Pool on its cover for Deadpool 2 before we did. Still, we can’t be mad at the guy for wanting to spread his turkey-stuffing tips on “giving your family the bird” or share his recipe for “D’s nuts” in the 2017 Holiday Issue. Sadly Wade’s guest edit wasn’t the regular edition of Good Housekeeping, though his Deadpool Special did get a limited print run as a promo hand-out in the States.
Empire’s Talking Cover
Good Housekeeping may have got Deadpool’s voice inside their magazine first, but we’ve got it blaring out of our cover. The Summer Movie Blowout issue of Empire also comes in a special limited special edition with a talking cover that responds with one of 14 phrases when you talk to it. It hits the shelves on Thursday 17 May, and you can order one online here in case you can’t track it down in person.
Deadpool 2 is in cinemas now.