All the deep cut jokes in Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 2 that you might have missed

Spoilers for Deadpool 2 follow

Considering the amount of pop-culture references in Deadpool 2, it’s likely that you missed many of them - especially a split-second celebrity cameo. You’ll probably have to watch the film again (and again, and again) to note (but not necessarily understand) every joke Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with the Mouth makes in the superhero sequel. But we’ve collected a few here for your convenience, if only to reassure you that yes, that was indeed Brad Pitt that you saw for ⅓ of a second.

All the Marvel Cinematic Universe digs

We saw several of them in the trailer, but the final film had more than a handful of jokes made at the expense of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, clearly the most popular (and therefore most easy to lampoon) superhero franchise out there. It’s an added bonus that both Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War share in Josh Brolin an actor who plays major roles in both films.

Deadpool doesn’t let this opportunity go to waste. He calls Cable, Brolin’s time travelling cyborg, ‘a grumpy old f****r with a Winter Soldier arm’ at one point in the film. But if that was too subtle for you, he goes right ahead and calls him ‘Thanos’ in one scene, a rather blunt reference to his Infinity War character.

His Indian cabbie, Dopinder, meanwhile gets the title ‘Brown Panther’ - a dig at Marvel’s Black Panther - and to pacify Juggernaut in the film’s finale, Deadpool tries using Black Widow’s lullaby for Hulk. ‘Sun’s getting real low, big guy,” he says. And speaking of Black Widow, did you catch his nickname for Zazie Beetz’s Domino? He calls her ‘black Black Widow’.

Hugh Jackman

Even in death, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine hasn’t been spared Deadpool’s cracks. The film basically opens with Deadpool mourning Wolverine’s death in Logan, as a figurine of the clawed mutant in his death pose twirls around before him.

And Reynolds bookends the film with yet another dig at Wolverine - specifically the much derided X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Deadpool, now armed with Cable’s time travelling device, goes back into the past and murders the older version of his character while Wolverine looks on. “Just cleaning up the timeline,” he says.

But between these two moments, there’s one that more difficult to spot. When Deadpool is laying out his plan for an ambush, in which he will be joined by the X-Force, his drawn-in-crayon map notes a very specific person. Russell, the young mutant everyone seems to be after, has been given a codename: Prisoner 24601. The more literary of readers would recall that that’s the number assigned to Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. And who played Valjean on the big screen most recently? Yup, Hugh Jackman.

Deadpool’s clothes

Sure, there will be more out there, but three of Deadpool’s clothing choices are very pointed easter eggs. When he first arrives at Professor X’s mansion (and fools around on his wheelchair, Deadpool wears a T-shirt with two cats printed on it. These aren’t just any old cats. They’re Olivia and Meredith, which is what Taylor Swift’s pets are named.

In another scene, the floral shirt worn by Wade Wilson has exactly the same pattern as the one worn by Chunk in the 1985 film, The Goonies. To take this reference a step further, one of the lead actors in the film was a young Josh Brolin.

And while this might be less impressive than the two references above, the first time Deadpool struts in as a (trainee) member of the X-Men, his yellow and black outfit is a callback to a similar costume he wears in the comics.

Director David Leitch’s cameo

He’s no Alfred Hitchcock, but Leitch snuck in a quick cameo in the action scene on the convoy of trucks. The first mutant prisoner being transported who gets thrown out of the truck is none other than the director of the film, David Leitch.

Sexual harassment allegations against TJ Miller

Somewhat surprisingly, after sexual assault allegations were made against TJ Miller, who plays Weasel in the Deadpool films, the studio chose to not drop him from the final cut - and this move has precedence, because that’s exactly what director Ridley Scott did with Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World.

And while Reynolds’ has quietly confirmed that Miller would not be returning for any further Deadpool adventures, the film did make a nod of acknowledgment towards the allegations, which were followed up by more controversial behaviour by Miller - including reporting a false bomb threat aboard a moving train.

Instead of recasting his role, a news ticker in the background of the scene in which Cable rebuilds his weapon reads, “Christopher Plummer respectfully turned down the Deadpool 2 role extended to him.” Plummer replaced Spacey in All the Money in the World. This spot is courtesy ScreenRant.

There are many more easter eggs and references in Deadpool 2, and we’ll probably hear about them soon. There are, of course, the three big cameos by A-listers - Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and the X-Men - in addition to the revelation that Reynolds played a double role in the film. He also voiced the film’s antagonist, Juggernaut.

Deadpool 2 has made over $300 million worldwide, including a strong ₹33 crore opening in India.

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