As principal photography of Fox's Deadpool sequel gets under way in Vancouver, star Ryan Reynolds has a surprise up his sleeve -- or, rather, on his back.
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Overnight he announced the addition of Hunt for the Wilderpeople star Julian Dennison to the film's cast with a photo of himself as Deadpool giving the 14-year-old actor a piggyback ride.
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The image is an homage to a classic scene from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, which was hilariously recreated last year by Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley. Whether this means Dennison's character will be the teacher and Deadpool the student, or simply that Reynolds is too heavy for the young New Zealander to carry, remains to be seen.
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Deadpool 2 will be Dennison's follow-up to his breakout role in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, the acclaimed 2016 adventure comedy-drama written and directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok). Based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress, the film follows Ricky Baker (Dennison), a juvenile delinquent who's sent to live with on a remote farm with a foster family, which includes Sam Neill as the cantankerous "Uncle" Herc.
Dennison joins a Deadpool 2 cast that also includes returning actors T.J. Miller as Weasel, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus and Karan Soni as Dopinder, with newcomers Zazie Beetz as Domino, Josh Brolin as Cable and Jack Kesy as a villain widely thought to be Black Tom Cassidy.
Directed by David Leitch (John Wick), Deadpool 2 opens June 1, 2018.