You will see the release next month Deadpool and Wolverine, the third Deadpool movie and the first since Marvel Studios acquired the character, and insiders are predicting that the film will be a financial success. According to quorumA firm that tracks and predicts Box office no, Marvel should expect a $200 million opening weekend, an absolutely huge number — it would be the biggest opening for an R-rated film in history. As such, a multifaceted marketing campaign has already begun, including trailers, posters, media appearances, a Taylor Swift concert outing, and movie merchandising.
previous death well The movies were huge hits. Both made up over $700 million worldwide; And Deadpool himself (played by Ryan Reynolds) has become a fan favorite – an anti-hero whose superhuman powers turn everything into farce.
Still, the promotion and marketing of this movie centered around one tired joke in particular: Wolverine and Deadpool are gay.
A riff on one of the IMAX posters, 2017 log on (a dystopian western about Wolverine) poster, Deadpool holding Wolverine’s hand and caressing one of his adamantium claws with his gloved finger:
Another, a play on Disney beauty and the beast, The pair are seen slow dancing with Deadpool taking Bale’s place:
And viewers will have the chance to commemorate the movie with a special popcorn bucket. The pot is shaped like a wolverine’s head and serves as an opening for his large mouth. The jar was teased with a dollop of butter over Wolverine’s face, and Deadpool fondled it:
The idea of Deadpool and Wolverine sharing feelings for each other can be interpreted as amusing that they are playing against type. A bit more work here though.
Both characters are sexually fluid in their comic book source material. Obviously, the degree of that openness is up to the writers, but Wolverine, especially in the recent publishing era, was explained. Part of a polyamorous relationship Along with fellow X-Men Jean Gray and Scott Summers. Deadpool, in the comic books, has expressed attraction to or flirted with characters like this spider man And cableAnd the alienand its embodiment death myself
Movie superheroes usually are too negative slope (Or if they’re horny, it’s just by mistake) and fragrance. Wolverine and Deadpool being gay and horny for each other goes against what superheroes usually are. But going against the grain, the series known as Deadpool — despite being a box office blockbuster — has come to represent a kind of satirical counterculture.
Reynolds and Jackman complemented the movie’s promotional tour by hanging out in real life and confirming their bromance. Reynolds and Jackman were seen together In September, shortly after news broke that Jackman and his wife Deborah-Lee Furness were divorcing after 27 years. next month, the two attended a Chiefs game with Taylor Swift. This past May, the co-stars interviewed each other for People magazine and spoke candidly about how they met (in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and how both nurture their relationship with each other.
The actors playing Deadpool and Wolverine are two men who are not afraid to be friends, go to concerts and talk about the tenderness of their relationship. Both the actors are working hard to show that this movie is coming from a good place.
Yet the joke can’t help but feel a little listless if it involves pointing and expecting someone to laugh—a kind of ironic alliance. Laughter isn’t meant to be homophobic or anti-gay, but at the same time, these promotional materials and fellatio-themed popcorn vessels aren’t claiming that there’s some important queer relationship here either.
What’s the punchline beyond: Are these two guys gay for each other? I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but the world we share is full of gay male couples as bearded and muscular as Wolverine and boring and boring as Deadpool, and I can report firsthand that many of them are deeply dysfunctional.
The problem – and the real joke missing from these promotional materials – is that Marvel and Disney, its parent company, have tried repeatedly to constantly insist to LGBTQ fans and more importantly the good press that their upcoming movies will feature a gay character.
Both Marvel and Disney have been Criticized for queerbaiting, the practice of marketing a film with supposedly queer characters or LGBTQ romantic plots but not actually portraying them on screen. An example: Disney spent a lot of time and money promoting it First gay characterA Lesbian Cyclops Police Officer By 2020 ahead. As if that combination of words wasn’t funny enough on its own, the character’s big gay moment was a fleeting line about his girlfriend. as Highlight out, many of these “gay” moments in Disney movies are nothing more than brief cameos or small wrinkles in the animation. And Disney can’t help congratulating itself for these unnecessary crumbs but being a little cynical.
Marvel isn’t much better.
The first gay guy in the MCU There was an unnamed character talking about her date Avengers: Endgame. Since then, multiple actors and directors have spoken about the characters (most notably Valkyrie and Captain Marvel) as Queer or gay in promotional interviews But what ever the ingredients seem Make the final cut.
Making fun of a one-eyed purple policewoman with a purple haircut created by the establishment as a gay token is something that Deadpool, a character supposed to be irreverent and sarcastic, would snort at. That Disney, a giant entertainment giant that holds the purse strings of dominant culture, now owns Deadpool also rubs off. What should feel sharp and crunchy can’t help but feel a bit gritty or restrained.
How destructive can Deadpool be if he owns the richest cultural power in the world? Was he destructive in the first place? Could he ever be? Surely Deadpool could be more shocking and revolutionary than two people holding hands.
To be clear, I don’t care if Deadpool and Wolverine are in a relationship or not. Representation in a Marvel movie isn’t going to move the needle in either direction. Someone made it Brilliant observation That being perverted by Disney or Marvel would be like losing to a dog at chess. I just hope the movie is more fun than it sells.
