Whether he’s peddling his Aviation Gin or a new movie, Ryan Reynolds knows how to make a memorable ad. The trailer for his latest film, “Free Guy,” sees Reynolds’ beloved character, Deadpool, at his most “meta” yet – and officially joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The newest look at the video game-themed action flick dropped on Reynolds’ YouTube channel Tuesday morning, except the trailer itself is not what’s new. It’s the same trailer that dropped last month, but with a twist. It’s actually a trailer reaction video featuring Reynolds and co-star Taika Waititi as their MCU alter-egos.
Yep, the video is just Deadpool and Korg (the rock monster from “Thor Ragnarok,” a film Waititi also directed) watching and reacting to the “Free Guy” trailer in Deadpool’s apartment.
In addition to a tongue-in-cheek parody of clickbait-y YouTube reactors (at one point Deadpool asks us to “smash that subscribe button”), the promo actually marks a major milestone in Marvel history. Deadpool previously only existed in 20th Century Fox’s old X-Men franchise but this union with Korg represents his official crossover into Disney’s Marvel universe.
Not long ago, Marvel character and franchise ownership rights were split between multiple studios, with Fox holding the X-Men and Sony possessing Spider-Man. As years and mega-deals have gone on, however, these characters have eventually passed hands to the House of Mouse thanks to Sony’s agreement to loan out Spider-Man starting in 2015 and the Fox-Disney merger in 2019.
Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is the only character confirmed to have been imported from Fox’s X-Men franchise into the Marvel Studios universe as of now. Earlier this year, Marvel’s Kevin Feige confirmed that “Deadpool 3” is in the works at Marvel Studios, with Reynolds both writing and starring in the film. And yes, it will be R-rated just as the previous “Deadpool” films were.
“Free Guy” hits theaters August 13. Check out the “Deadpool and Korg React” trailer here.
