Thanks to Deadpool becoming a smash hit despite a shoestring budget and a non-supportive studio, Ryan Reynolds has become not just a massive movie star, but a marketing super guru. The actor was extremely hands-on for the aggressive publicity campaigns for both Deadpool movies. His presence was undeniable, which was all part of the decades-long struggle he went through to get the Merc from the Mouth a proper live-action film after the character was practically unrecognizable in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Of course, the first Deadpool‘s success would have never been possible had test footage found its way online, and Reynolds recently had some cheeky words for whoever might have been responsible. (If you get the impression from this quote that the leaker might be Reynolds, we had the same thought.) Via Deadline:
“I spent ten years trying to get the film Deadpool made — it was hell,” he told an audience at the Cannes Lions advertising event in France today. “We shot some test footage, some absolute bastard leaked it onto the internet, and that’s what got the movie made.”
Thanks to whoever the leaker might be, Deadpool is one of the few characters to survive the Disney/Fox merger. In fact, a third film that will fully introduce the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on its way, and major stars are already fighting over who gets a cameo.
During a new interview to promote Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Hemsworth cheekily threatened to use his MCU clout to get himself a Deadpool 3 appearance just to spite Hugh Jackman, who’s been angling to be in the film. “I might make some calls, make sure that doesn’t happen,” Hemsworth joked to BBC Radio 1.
Apparently, there can be only one Australian hero in the MCU.