Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine isn’t the only Canadian “aboot” to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Deadpool & Wolverine star, co-writer, producer, and real-life Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds pays tribute to two of his fellow Canadians in the upcoming Marvel Studios movie, which sees the Time Variance Authority bring Wade Wilson and James Howlett — a.k.a. Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine — out of the Fox X-Men universe and into the MCU. Ahead of the new Deadpool & Wolverine trailer on Monday, Reynolds shared an image to his Instagram showing the toupeed Wade decked out in callouts to his Canadian countrymen: Ryan Gosling and the late John Candy.
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Wade can be seen wearing a shirt adorned with images of the Barbie and The Fall Guy star, but the Candy Easter egg is more subtle. He’s reading The Canadian Mounted — the same pornographic paperback that Candy’s character, shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith, reads in John Hughes’ classic 1987 comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Reynolds previously included the book in Deadpool and Deadpool 2 as a tribute to Candy, who has been praised by Reynolds as “a comedic genius and Canadian hero.”
“Growing up, I had a real obsession, quitegenuinely, with John Candy. And I still do. Steve Martin, a lot of theguys that came out of SNL,” Reynolds said on David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction in 2022. “ If I’m flummoxed in a scene or I can’t figureout a way in, I will just copy them. That sort of [Martin’s character]Neal Page, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, kind of aggressivelyunimpressed, kind of over-it character. I just love that, I can neverget enough.”
“[The Canadian Mounted] is supposed to be this non-fiction soft porn,basically. One of those sorts of trash, way sub-Danielle Steel. We’retalking nasty. He reads it in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. And Ihave that book,” he continued. “Not the exact one he’s holding but I had it remade for Deadpool. And I’m carrying it under my arm in a number of scenes. Idon’t think it’s ever actually seen on camera. But it’s those littlethings that you try to never forget. Those people that helped grow youwhere you are.”
As for Gosling, the actor has expressed interest in joining the MCU as Ghost Rider. After Gosling told MTV News he “would love to do it,” Marvel Studios president and Deadpool & Wolverine producer Kevin Feige told the outlet: “If Ryan wants to be Ghost Rider…Gosling’s unbelievable. Ryan is amazing. I’d love tofind a place for him in the MCU. He’s dressed up as Ken on Venice Beach [for Barbie]and gets more press than giant movies coming out that weekend. It’samazing.”
Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine — starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman,Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, Leslie Uggams,Karan Soni, Matthew Macfadyen, and Emma Corrin — is intheaters July 26.