Deadpool pokes fun at the Marvel Cinematic Universe in hilarious new viral ad

There are two ways to increase hype around a film’s release.

One classic way is to share sneak peeks of footage to get fans excited, especially if you’re dealing with a sequel where there’s already a fair bit of excitement off the back of the original.

Alternatively, you can set up high-profile interviews where your stars ramp up the excitement and tease some reasons why folks will want to tune in.

However, when it comes to Deadpool 2, they’ve found a third way.

Building hype with viral videos is nothing new, but Deadpool 2’s methods are much more creative than most.

They’ve got some brand new footage, but it’s not footage from the film, which is now on general release in the UK. Instead, its title character has sat down and gone through the evolution of the series through ‘Phase One’ and ‘Phase Two’, an obvious send-up of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“If you told me back then that one movie would span an expansive two-movie universe, I’d have said that you were crazy,” Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, says.

“But here we are, with actual actors, a moderate special effects budget, and several low-level X-Men. None of the big ones, though. We gotta save something for Phase Two.”

Oh, and they don’t hold back on the digs, taking aim in particular at Ryan Reynolds’ appearance in the widely-derided Green Lantern, which Deadpool admits “didn’t help things”.

It doesn’t end there, though.

Away from his attempts to pastiche Marvel, Deadpool has been sneaking his way onto the covers of a number of different DVD covers ahead of the cinema release of the sequel.

A number of stores in the United States have alternate DVD covers for various films, including Assassin’s Creed, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Fight Club, all of them featuring Reynolds’ character. And anyone buying them will get money off Deadpool 2 cinema tickets.

There has already been talk from fans on Twitter who are attempting to collect all of the limited edition covers, with some tempted to snap them up even if they already have copies of the films in question.

It’s certainly done the trick in terms of impressing fans and non-fans alike, though, and we’re starting to wonder whether some people will be impressed enough by the marketing around the film to get off the fence and give it a watch.

Deadpool 2 premiered in Leicester Square on 10 May and is now on general release.

(Images: Marvel/20th Century Fox/Getty)