Even Deadpool 2’s new star didn’t get all the comic-book references in it
Zazie Beetz had a lot of catching up to do when she joined the film to play Domino
It’s fair to say that the first Deadpool film was absolutely stuffed with references to other superhero movies, from the recasting of the leads in the X-Men franchise to general tropes about the genre.
But soon-to-be-released sequel Deadpool 2 seriously ups the ante in that area, pulling in even more gags about the Marvel Cinematic and DC Universes sure to make fans gasp in their seats (some of which have already appeared in the film’s trailers).
And it turns out that sometimes, even the cast had trouble following all the Easter eggs and comic-book jokes in their own movie…
“I wasn't really, growing up, very into the superhero world,” Atlanta star Zazie Beetz, who plays Domino in the film, told RadioTimes.com.
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“I think I was girlier, I suppose, I was more of a Disney, kind of princess person growing up.
“I read a bunch of the comics, and I watched some older cartoons which had Domino depicted, and I kind of just dove in,” she went on.
“But it's also hard, because it's such a massive amount of information.”
And apparently, this led a few of the superhero references to go over Beetz’ head -though she says that when it came to more general pop culture gags, she was in the zone.
“Deadpool references are very pop culture-based, I think, less sort of DC or Marvel specific,” she told us. “Though there are a few of those too!
“I mean, I'm not completely blind. Like I know some parts of the X-Men universe. But I think [Deadpool]’s focus is much more pop, current culture. It worked for me!”
Beetz went on to discuss her excitement at joining Ryan Reynolds' meta superhero franchise after the first Deadpool was such a surprise success - though that didn't come without a little pressure too...
“I was excited,” she told RadioTimes.com.
“I mean, I feel like it's always lamer joining the family that's already been made. But you know, everybody was super welcoming, and took me in right away. I think I was super excited about joining what I thought was this very cool interpretation of the superhero world, superhero universe in general.
“It felt very original, very fresh to me. And I liked that. I liked that it was a very different way to do something like this. I was excited.
“But also yeah - definitely there was pressure from all around to make sure the second could hold up to the first as well.”
In typically deadpan Deadpool fashion, she concluded: “If you wanna see a wonderfully flirty romantic romcom, come watch it.”
Deadpool 2 is released in UK cinemas on Tuesday 15th May
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
