After Deadpool & Wolverine earned the Mouse House over $1.3 billion at the box office this summer, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are now officially Disney princes. And, as any child of the 2000s knows, there’s a rite of passage that all Disney royalty must perform that proves they’ve really earned their stripes. Everyone, go thank Reynolds and Jackman for bringing this nostalgic tradition back from the dead.
In a hilarious and characteristically cheeky new promo, the famous frenemies put their own spin on the classic Disney Channel wand intro in order to promote Deadpool & Wolverine releasing on digital. Well, at least that’s what you — and Hugh — thought. It turns out Reynolds hijacked the promo to throw some more eyes on his very first Disney movie, one with some surprisingly similarities with his Marvel threequel.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman do the Disney Channel wand intro, and things get copyright-infringing
“I’m so excited to be here promoting a movie I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into,” Reynolds explains. “My character’s name is Wade…” he continues, before Jackman cuts in with his own spiel. Ryan then interrupts by asking if Hugh was in “the 1998 Disney Original Movie Tourist Trap” as well, because that’s the film Reynolds think they’re promoting right now.
Yes, Tourist Trap is a real 1998 DCOM, and Reynolds really does play a character called Wade in it. So-called Oscar bridesmaid Paul Giamatti likewise appears in the cast, which features Home Alone‘s Daniel Stern and Airplane!‘s Julie Hagerty as two hapless parents whose family vacation road trip goes the rails. Ironically, it isn’t actually available on Disney Plus but can be found on Peacock. Although, like Reynolds says, the whole thing can also be viewed for free on YouTube.
The dynamic duo squeeze another not-so-obscure reference into this promo when Jackman storms off and uses his Disney wand to draw a Green Lantern mask on Reynolds’ face. Sending potential Disney subscribers to Peacock and getting Warner Bros. lawyers in a tizzy with a very on-the-nose nod to a DC superhero? Yep, that sounds about right for a Deadpool promo.
In many ways, the creative and rib-tickling promotional tour for DP3 has been just as entertaining as the film itself, so fans are delighted that the pair are still committed to doing these spots even long after the movie hit theaters. In fact, if fans had their way, they would never stop. “They never miss with their promotions,” one X user gushed, before quoting what is quickly seeming less like a joke and more like a small-print clause hidden in their contracts: “Till they’re 90.”
Deadpool & Wolverine is now available for rent or purchase on digital, but the year’s biggest comic book blockbuster has yet to receive a Disney Plus release. We would expect it to make its way onto streaming soon, however, seeing as Marvel films usually have a gap of about three months between their theatrical and D+ debuts. Keep an eye out for it on the platform around late October or maybe early November. In the meantime, do as Reynolds says and go watch Tourist Trap, aka Deadpool 0.5.