Is Wade Wilson — aka the Merc With the Mouth, aka Deadpool — secretly a Nickelback fan? It sure seems that way in a new clip that’s been released in advance of Once Upon a Deadpool, the shameless cash grab of a Deadpool 2 remake that hits theaters this week and which has been sufficiently sanitized to earn a PG-13 rating. Also, proceeds from the movie will go towards fighting cancer. But first, back to Nickelback.
We’ve actually seen the setting in this clip already. Deadpool has kidnapped Fred Savage and tied him to a bed in an attempt to give this holiday release of the Deadpool 2 remake a patina of childlike innocence and magic a la The Princess Bride. Which of course featured a young Fred with his grandpa reading to him from a storybook (instead of our hero Deadpool, in this case, doing the reading).
“I kinda prefer Marvel movies,” Fred tells Deadpool, by way of opening our new scene.
Uh, dude — we are Marvel, comes Deadpool’s obvious reply.
“Yeah,” Fred agrees. “But, you know, you’re Marvel … licensed by Fox. it’s like if the Beatles were produced by Nickelback. It’s music. But it sucks.”
At this point, Deadpool slams his book closed and declares he’s “had it” with all the Nickelback-hating. “You think that makes you cool with the cool kids in school Fred?” Fred declares them over-produced “ear garbage,” which leads Deadpool to ask, you know who might disagree with that? Facts!”
And then Deadpool looks straight into the camera (at you, yes YOU) and runs through a checklist of items he thinks helps make his case, but which of course don’t disprove the larger point that Nickelback’s music is still God’s punishment for the sins of man:
“50 million albums worldwide. Eleventh best-selling musical act of all time. Billboard’s most successful rock group of the last decade. Six Grammy nominations. Twelve Juno awards (“Those count”). Six Billboard awards. Two American Music Awards. One People’s Choice Award…” You get the idea.
After Deadpool angrily snaps that Fred seemed nicer as a kid, Fred tries to make amends. By, of course, leading Deadpool in a rousing rendition of the Nickelback earworm, “How You Remind Me.” Ah, good times.
Hopefully the PG-13 version of Deadpool 2, which includes some new footage, brings that same level of irreverence and frivolity when it arrives on Wednesday for a 12-day run. As we’ve noted previously, for every ticket sold, $1 is also going to go to the charity Fudge Cancer. That, of course, is the PG-13 version of the organization’s name, otherwise known as F*** Cancer but which decided to go with a family-friendly version in honor of the movie.
