A new fun Deadpool 2 poster brings Wade Wilson’s unicorn plaything under the spotlight. With less than a month before hitting the cinemas, Fox is ramping up marketing for their upcoming Marvel superhero flick (their only one for this year). Directed by David Leitch with the story written by original writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, plus Ryan Reynolds, the follow-up follows the Merc With A Mouth as he tries to save Julian Dennison’s mysterious young mutant from Cable. Specific plot details are unclear at the moment, but it promises to be a bigger sequel with a slew of new characters joining the returning cast.

The budding Deadpool franchise is well-known for its innovative marketing schemes. So far, there have been three full trailers, a Bob Ross-inspired teaser and a handful of spots, as well as several posters. But this latest one arguably takes the cake for the most amusing one-sheet out of all the ones that have been already released.

Coming courtesy of EW, the newest marketing material from Deadpool 2 is an IMAX ensemble poster featuring Deadpool, Domino, Cable, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead with the special participation of Wade’s iconic stuffed unicorn. But like any IMAX special poster, this latest one is a departure from the previously released one-sheets from the film, at least aesthetically, as instead of using live-action images, it incorporates illustrated version of the characters. The illustration is fun and colorful, to the point that it almost deceptively looks like a children’s book cover. Check it out below:

If anything, the poster is a great indicator of the tone and feel that Reynolds and his team are going for in the forthcoming sequel - which is a good thing. Sticking to the hilarious and outrageous storytelling that made the original Deadpool so entertaining is a great move in comparison to most sequels which try too separate itself from its predecessor. That’s not to say that the film won’t be offering something new. The introduction of time-travel via Cable and the subsequent assembly of the X-Force are enough reasons to believe that the Leithch-directed movie has a lot more to offer, not just in terms of Deadpool’s character trajectory, but in the separate Fox Marvel lore (if it’s still going to be a thing moving forward given the looming Dinsey buyout).

That said, Deadpool 2’s marketing is not quite as fun and dynamic as the first one. The previews have been great as they perfectly encapsulated the Merc With A Mouth’s no-holds-barred persona as well as taking advantage of his fourth-wall-breaking skills, but compared to what Reynolds did in 2016, this is relatively laid back. In its defense, with such a packed blockbuster release schedule, Avengers: Infinity War hogging all the attention may have something to do with it. Unfortunately, with just three weeks to spare between the Marvel Studios flick and Deadpool 2’s debut, the follow-up film won’t have that much time building momentum. It’ll all boil down to how good the movie is and hopefully, word of mouth will give it box office legs.

MORE: Deadpool 2 on Track to Be Fandango’s Top R-Rated Preseller

Source: EW

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