Everyone's favorite foul-mouthed Merc is back as Deadpool 2 dropped its full trailer, giving us far more insight into the plot (we know Cable's motivations) and an avalanche of pop-culture jokes and one-liners. Hearing a Ryan Reynolds character call Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants pornography, knowing that Reynolds' wife Blake Lively stars in it, is exactly the type of meta hilarity that we want out of Deadpool 2. But when the trailer opened up with Air Supply, we had a wildly unexpected flashback. Or, maybe we should say, a Van Wilder flashback.
"Dope song. What's it called?" Thanks for asking, Sophia Bush. That's "All Out Of Love" by the power dup of Air Supply, and Ryan Reynolds sang it -- poorly -- in the 2002 bro-mantic comedy National Lampoon's Van Wilder, in which the title character is a perpetual college partyer who finally tries to get his shit together long enough to graduate. This has to be a direct nod to Van Wilder, right? Why on Earth would Deadpool's favorite cab driver, Dopinder (Karan Soni), be listening to it as he's waiting for Wade to make an escape from a gig?
Here's Ryan Reynolds in Van Wilder, explaining to Sophia Bush why Air Supply is the perfect break-up band, circa 2002:
Again, this is just scratching the surface of the number of references that are sprinkled throughout the Deadpool 2 trailer. But what's impressive -- and encouraging -- is that they are not forced in, at the expense of the story. They seem timely, and relevant, or nostalgic and on point. There might even be a Wakanda Forever reference that, if possible, means that the reshoot in Vancouver worked. Seriously, I am far more excited about Deadpool 2 after this trailer than I was originally.
Given Ryan Reynolds' filmography, there are plenty more jokes that can be made at the actor's expense. Maybe Deadpool and Dopinder can pee into a fountain together and switch identities? Maybe Deadpool, Cable and Domino can open a pizza place? Maybe, in the post-credits scene, everyone can meet Harold and Kumar at White Castle?
For now, Deadpool 2 looks like this:
Deadpool 2 will be directed by David Leitch, who comes over from John Wick and Atomic Blonde. It's going to try to cut into some of that sweet Avengers: Infinity War box office when it opens on May 18. What other Easter eggs did you find in the latest clip?
