The Deadpool & Wolverine press tour has kicked off in East Asia. As mentioned yesterday in What Else?, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and director Shawn Levy were in Shanghai and today they’ve stopped in Seoul where Ryan, at this point, is no stranger to the entertainment system. 

 

As we have seen over the last few years, few people are better at marketing and social engagement than Ryan Reynolds and his enthusiastic and respectful embrace of Korean pop culture is a great example of how savvy and strategic he’s been in this market. Ryan recognised early on, earlier than almost every other celebrity in Hollywood, the power of Korea. He was the first western star to appear on King of Masked Singer in Korea, before The Masked Singer was introduced to western audiences. He’s been on Running Man, one of Korea’s most enduring and popular variety shows. South Korea is now on the itinerary every time Ryan promotes a movie. 

 

So now that he, Hugh, and Shawn are in Seoul together repping Deadpool & Wolverine, they’re apparently game for more Korean cultural chaos. Rumour has it they’re finalising details for an appearance at WATERBOMB Seoul. What is WATERBOMB? It’s a music festival and a waterbomb festival. So there’s live music and water gun battles. And water rockets that go off. Basically wet’n’wild and a concert at the same time. So if Ryan and Hugh are agreeing to show up, presumably they’re also agreeing to get soaked. I can’t wait to see footage of this if it happens. 

 

But Ryan is already going viral today in dry clothes. At the press conference, Ryan, Hugh, and Shawn were presented each with a hanbok and told that they were made by the same designer who made Blackpink’s Coachella hanbok. This is how Ryan reacted: 

Went out of his way to namecheck Stray Kids, signalling to everyone that he’s a Stay (the Stray Kids fan name). Ryan and Stray Kids go back to 2021, when they worked Deadpool into one of their performances. And Ryan responded: 

 

That led to an interview with Bang Chan over Zoom and now there are reports that Ryan and Hugh hooked up with Bang Chan, Felix, and Han today to film some secret content which, to go back to Ryan and his gift for marketing… I mean there’s only an upside to this. That’s not to say he isn’t a legit K-pop fan, because why wouldn’t he be, but also he’s recognising that there are audiences to engage with that Hollywood has traditionally underprioritised and he’s doing it in fresh and inventive ways and meeting them where they’re at. It’s why he’s had such a decade. So much Show Your Work! 

 

Shawn Levy, Hugh Jackman, and Ryan Reynolds attended a press conference and the Seoul Premiere for "Deadpool & Wolverine" on July 4, 2024.
Photo credits: ANTHONY WALLACE/ Han Myung-Gu/ JUNG YEON-JE/ Chung Sung-Jun/ Getty Images

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