The marketing of 2016’s Deadpool was..well…it was unlike most anything that had come before. It certainly struck a much different tone than the campaigns for any of Fox’s other X-Men Universe movies, which were super-somber and serious, with all the mutants making Very Determined Faces as they engaged in Very Serious Situations. There wasn’t a lot of joy there.
For Deadpool 2, out this week, I wrote over at The Hollywood Reporter about how the marketing of this sequel has kicked things up a notch from the foundation the first movie set. There are elements that are more outrageous and others that are a bit more standard than what was seen in 2016, but all of it is still very fun. In addition to what’s there, below are a few publicity beats I wanted to make sure weren’t missed.
Media and Publicity
At various times Brolin offered some praise for Reynolds, calling out his work ethic and talent.
While she was promoting “Atlanta” at the time, Beetz spoke here about why she decided to sign on for multiple super hero movies and how she trained for her role in this film.
Things really kicked into gear with a feature cover story in EW that reinforced how much the character and the actor who plays him have in common. It also had Reynolds talking about how a third movie would, in his opinion, have to a stripped-down, zero-budget production that’s super gritty, offering no comment on Deadpool’s future should Fox and Disney join forces and more. Everyone glommed on to his saying he’d never seen the finished Green Lantern movie, but most of that commentary misinterpreted his basically saying it’s not that unusual for him to not watch his own stuff.
Similarly getting a lot of attention was his revelation that yes, Fox asked him to cut a Disney joke, though he doesn’t specifically claim that was due to the pending merger. In that package, Brolin talked about his workout routine to get Cable’s body and how much he loves the 2009 Reynolds-starring romantic comedy The Proposal.
A New York Times profile of Reynolds hit a lot of those same beats but put them in a more personal context, talking about how he’s really kind of a low-key guy who’s racked by insecurity over his career and personal life.
One last video came out that had Deadpool/Reynolds apologizing to David Beckham for the joke about the soccer star made in the first movie, which he claims not to be aware of but who does want Reynolds to apologize for some of his less-than-great previous films.
Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.
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