It’s hard to imagine that two of Fox’s most popular superhero films of the past few years have been R-Rated standalones about a fourth-wall-breaking mercenary and two old men and a child, respectively. But in fact, Deadpool and Logan have not only been huge hits with critics and audiences, but have proven to be box office smashes. With fans eager for more R-Rated superhero films, expect to see Fox take advantage of this niche. Not only will Deadpool 2 prove to be their next opportunity, but the film’s stars, Deadpool and Cable, will also be heading up X-Force. It’s still early stages for the film, but expect it to bear a similar rating.

Meanwhile, Deadpool 2 will add yet another mercenary to the X-Men universe in the form of Domino. The mutant, with the power of good luck, has a long history with the Merc with a Mouth in the comics. We’ve been waiting for some time to learn who will play her, and we found out yesterday in a less than orthodox fashion. Given how tied Ryan Reynolds is to the success of Deadpool as a film character, it makes sense he’d essentially have free reign to reveal Atlanta star Zazie Beetz had nabbed the role. But in an effort to outdo even himself, the actor decided to continue the troll train with a tweet today.

Rather than spend time crafting fan art of Beetz as Domino, Ryan Reynolds (via CBR) simply pasted her head on a comic cover of the mutant and altered the title from Deadpool & the Mercs for Money to “Mission for Money.”

Zazie Beetz Effect. pic.twitter.com/Kvtyk1aI7O— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 9, 2017

Part of what works so well about Reynolds and his social media presence being used as part of the marketing for the character is that Deadpool by nature knows he’s in a movie (or comic) and constantly references pop culture. Years from now, some college student will write a detailed thesis on the meta-textual marketing and narrative of the character and his films. Either that, or Gerry Dugan will just turn Reynold’s tweets into an issue of Deadpool.

Meanwhile, we don’t have to wait until next year to see Reynolds suit up again as the Regeneratin’ Degenerate. Ahead of Logan, Deadpool got his very own teaser, reminding us what we love about the character. Even the rapid text at the end of the scene is another joke, an essay about The Old Man and the Sea written by Reynolds as Deadpool. As we get closer to Deadpool 2’s release, expect a lot more of these shenanigans, including a similar feat for the reveal of who’s playing Cable.

Source: Ryan Reynolds

  • Wolverine 3 Release Date: 2017-03-03 Deadpool 2 Release Date: 2018-05-18