Ryan Reynolds’ film Project Adam contains a great nod to 2016’s Deadpool, confirming a basic truth about his roles other than Wade Wilson.
A warning! SPOILERS for the Adam project.
While Project Adam has a hilarious reference to 2016 Dead Pool, this confirms the basic truth about Ryan Reynolds and his acting career. Especially in the last few years, it has become quite obvious that Reynolds excels at playing a very specific character that is not only an extension of himself, but also varying degrees of his most extreme “out there” qualities, exemplified by his character Deadpool. Whatever movie he’s in, you can almost always find traces of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. Thus Project Adam emphasizes this truth in a rather amusing (and appropriately meta) way.
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In Project Adam, directed by Shawn Levy, Reynolds plays a time traveler from the future named Adam Reid, who travels back in time and accidentally meets his younger self (Walker Scobell). What follows is a sci-fi adventure in which the two Adams go on a mission to save the future. However, there is a reference to 2016’s Deadpool in the film’s third act, arguably the biggest of Reynolds’ various roles in Hollywood.
Related: Explanation of the end of Project Adam (detailed)
The Deadpool reference in question is made by a younger Adam during the film’s final battle to save the future. Picking up the elder Adam’s lightsaber/combat staff, Young Adam uses it to jump across the room before making a dramatic (and familiar) landing. Young Adam even whispers, “Superhero Landing.” Combined with Reynolds’ surprised look and a line never seen before in the movie, it’s clearly a reference to Deadpool’s Wade Wilson when he was thrilled to see the classic comic book trope (one knee and fist down on impact). .
The fact that the Deadpool reference comes from a kid playing a younger version of Reynolds definitely serves as a meta-confirmation that his specialty will always be the essence of Wade Wilson on some level. Whether it’s “Hitman’s Bodyguard”, “Red Notice”, “Free Guy” or something else, traces of Deadpool can be found in everyone, and this new reference completely ingrains this concept in the minds of viewers. It’s clear that people love this role, which is selling well seeing audiences keep coming back for more.
While it may be “hard on your knees,” Young Adam’s superhero touchdown is a great moment among several when Walker Scobella’s Adam really feels like a young Ryan Reynolds (down to the tone of his voice). Additionally, the Deadpool reference ends with the official confirmation that Shawn Levy will be directing Deadpool 3 (continuing his collaboration with Reynolds after Project Adam and Free Guy). Either way, it looks like Ryan Reynolds has found his acting niche for the foreseeable future, as he more or less continues to play Deadpool – with or without a suit.
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Kevin Erdmann (2403 articles published)
Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in cinematography and an additional degree in comics and cartoons from UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. Although Kevin is a big Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he is Batman and strongly believes that Khan fired first. Disney also shares much of its fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and a sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.
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