Entertainment

Is Deadpool Secretly a Sexy Eighties Baby?

by Alamin Yohannes
20th Century Fox

Deadpool’s marketing campaigns are unique, to say the least, but the newest poses a new question. Is Deadpool secretly a sexy Eighties baby?

The latest promo image, which star Ryan Reynolds shared on Tuesday morning, shows his Deadpool costume posing in a chair while bullets fall down on him. The caption reads: “Take your passion. And make it happen.” If the photo makes anyone nostalgic that’s because Deadpool is getting his on Flashdance moment. It seems Deadpool just wants to dance.

The picture is a clear homage to an iconic scene from the 1983 film Flashdance, which follows a young welder in Pittsburg who aspires to be a professional dancer, and works as an exotic dancer on the side. Inthe film’s most memorable (and most parodied) scene, she arches back on a chair as a torrent of water rushes over her. Instead of water, though, Deadpool is exposing himself to a shower of bullet casings.

Here’s the original scene, for reference:

Flashdance water scene

A running gag in the comics — Deadpool’s love of the old sitcom The Golden Girls — has been a big part of the film’s promotion, including an image of crocheted figures of the Golden Girls sitting around a table with Deadpool. Earlier this year, the movie’s Twitter account posted a hilarious Happy Birthday post for Betty White, celebrating her big day with “‘tinis and weenies.” The Flashdance post is the latest addition to the list of ways Ryan Reynolds and 20th Century Fox tapped into the character’s love for the past to entertain us all.

Of course, all of this is being done to promote the upcoming sequel Deadpool 2. The film follows Reynolds’ Wade Wilson as he balances his mercenary work with his impending nuptials to Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). A new threat complicates his life even further and Wilson must bring together allies, both new and old, to defeat it.

Zazie Beetz and Josh Brolin are joining the series as Domino and Cable, respectively. They’re joining returning cast members T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, and Brianna Hildebrand.

Deadpool 2 premieres on May 18, 2018.