Did you catch the references to Thanos in the newDeadpool 2trailer? Even though the first real-deal trailer forDeadpool 2wasn’t supposed to arrive untilBlack Pantherhits theaters next weekend, 20th Century Fox decided to surprise fans with it today and, even though the trailer is certainly non-traditional, it gave fans everything they wanted to see, including plenty of Josh Brolin’sCable, as the trailer was centered entirely on his character. It also contains not one, but two references to Brolin’s other Marvel character, Thanos.
Josh Brolin is playing Cable inDeadpool 2, which resides in the currentX-Menuniverse andThanos, who is the big bad in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is set to be the main villain ofAvengers: Infinity War. Being thatDeadpoolis predicated on being able to break the fourth wall, this trailer takes the opportunity to slip in a couple of references to theMad Titan. Though, they weren’t so obvious as to distract from the movie and, based on how they were presented, they may not even wind up in the movie itself.
The references come during the bit in the trailer when Ryan Reynolds’Deadpooltakes it upon himself to handle trailer duties, since the CGI on Cable’s arm isn’t finished. He then stages a fight between “Sheriff Deadpool” and Cable in a clear reference toToy Story. When the Merc with a Mouth first takes it upon himself to make the trailer happen, he says, “Ah, f*** it, I’ll do it myself!” Those who saw the post-credits scene that features Thanos fromAvengers: Age of Ultronwill likely remember that when he picks up the Infinity Gauntlet, he says, “I’ll do it myself.” This is relatively subtle (by Deadpool standards) but clear reference to Thanos.
Wade Wilson provides the second reference to Thanos during theaction-figure fight, before the actual footage fromDeadpool 2kicks back in. At one point, Wade Wilson yells, “Zip it, Cable! I’ve got the stones to help you,” after Cable calls out Deadpool for saying “Regeneration powers, activate!” Indeed, Thanos has been looking for the Infinity Stones for quite some time and these “stones” seem to be in direct reference to the powerful items in the MCU. Then the trailer cuts to a ton of action shots and, as far as we can tell, there are no references to Thanos in the actual footage fromDeadpool 2.
That said, it seems more than likely we’ll at least get a nod to the fact that Josh Brolin is playing two major Marvel characters in different universes. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even take a jab at Brolin forJonah Hex? Interestingly, Thanos and Cable could be part of the same universe at some point, if the Disney/Fox deal is eventually approved. Though,Deadpool 2finished filming before the deal withFoxwas announced so it’s not likely the movie is going to be able to squeeze in any jokes about the merger. But virtually anything else is fair game.
