The Deadpool 2 trailer has arrived, and it’s not only an amusing look at what Deadpool does with his toys, it’s also packed with plot hints and possible hints about obscure X-Men and a bad alternate future. Let’s break down the Easter eggs and intriguing clues, shall we?
We start with a few shots establishing just what a grimdark badass Cable (Josh Brolin) is, as he fights through a grim future of burning buildings and has only a teddy for comfort. If you’re not familiar with the comics, Cable is a man from a possible future timeline who comes back to right what once went wrong. So, yeah, he’s a bit serious.
Although not so serious he won’t have a Spinal Tap joke on his giant rifle, which apparently goes to 11:
But then, a special effects failure leads to Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) (who gripes that adding a metal arm isn’t like removing a mustache) taking over, in, uh, his unique way:
Before you ask, yes, Deadpool’s action figure is in a Sheriff Woody outfit, something we’re sure Fox’s future owners are very excited about. Anyway, after Deadpool’s stamina runs out, that’s when we get the nerd goods. The first big hint is on the shields of a bunch of dudes Cable trashes, who appear to be working for the “DMC” and are allowed to shoot to kill:
Not that this bothers Cable, whose cybernetic enhancements come with a handy force field.
Interestingly, we see a lot of people in yellow jumpsuits, in what appears to be a prison Cable is blasting apart. And then the trailer seems to jump back to the present day with Deadpool and Domino (Zazie Beetz) trashing hospital orderlies:
Check out the very concerning poster behind Domino, which seems to be anti-mutant propaganda:
After a brief look at Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and her new hairstyle:
As well as two goons trying to hassle Deadpool in his own apartment, there’s this truck, also from the DMC, and of great interest to Cable:
There’s also a montage of Deadpool arming up, and preparing to jump off of a jet with an interesting set of team members:
Deadpool, Domino, and three others are on the jet. To the right, there’s a character who may, perhaps, be G.W. Bridge, a mercenary who worked with Cable in the comics. Behind him is a guy in a helmet who sure looks like Fantomex, one of the many, many victims of the Weapon X project. And behind Domino is somebody who looks quite a bit like Chamber, a mutant who destroyed most of his body when his powers emerged and fires psionic blasts out of his chest.
This truck, and people in yellow jumpsuits and what looks like power inhibiting collars, pop up in the ensuing montage, including Deadpool himself in what appears to be him attempting to thwart Cable’s prison break that opens the trailer:
Spoiler alert: Cable and Deadpool crash the truck. Thanks in part to Deadpool’s ass:
The ensuing montage reveals that taxi driver Dopinder (Karan Soli), his love Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and Weasel (TJ Miller) are all back, and it climaxes with the return of the most important character, Leslie Uggams’ Blind Al:
This still leaves us with a host of questions. The DMC resembles a lot of anti-mutant organizations in the comics, and there have been hints, here and there, that major X-Men villain, the eugenicist Mister Sinister, is running around. It could also be that Ajax’s mutant soldier operation from the first movie has gotten a new face. And why, precisely, is Cable so angry at Deadpool, when he hasn’t even gotten to know him well enough for that level of dislike? We’ll find out May 18th.