Ryan Reynolds, known for playing Deadpool, sent an emotional video message to a young Canadian fan who is battling cancer. Reynolds first played the superhero as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, and later reprised the role in two standalone films in 2016 and 2018.
Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were huge successes both critically and at the box office. Reynolds was even nominated for a Golden Globe in 2016 for his performance as the superhero. The franchise will continue with Deadpool 3, which was recently confirmed as being integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though Deadpool’s narrative previously existed in the X-Men universe, its continuity became unclear when Disney acquired Fox in 2019. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has since confirmed that Deadpool 3 will be a part of the MCU, and that the character will exist alongside the Avengers. Some fans have speculated which MCU movies could include Wade Wilson/Deadpool before Deadpool 3, as its production is not scheduled to begin until 2022. As fans wait for Deadpool 3 to move forward, Reynolds is sending one young fan words of encouragement.
Reynolds recently learned through social media about an 11-year-old fan named Brody Dery who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last year. He immediately sent a video to the boy’s family, which was then uploaded to Twitter by Canadian journalist Caden Fanshaw. The video is casual and seemingly filmed with Reynolds’ own cell phone as he sends a simple but uplifting message of love and strength to his young fan. Check out the full video below:
Reynolds is open about his various charitable contributions and has also visited and reached out to cancer patients in the past. Deadpool himself is a cancer survivor, so that could be a part of why Reynolds feels so connected to the cause, and why fans like Brody Dery look up to him so much. Another superhero actor, Jason Mamoa, also recently reached out to a young fan who is battling cancer and sent him an official Aquaman trident.
It’s lovely to see Reynolds using his platform to spread hope and joy, as he is known for being active on social media, though he typically uses it for comedy. Reynolds loves to jokingly troll his wife Blake Lively and has been carrying on a years-long humorous social media feud with his friend Hugh Jackman. While fans will have to wait a while to see another Deadpool installment, it’s stories like these that show why Reynolds is so deserving of his success. While Reynolds is already a superhero on-screen, his immense compassion demonstrates that he’s a superhero off-screen as well.
Source: Caden Fanshaw / Twitter
