One Subtle Deadpool & Wolverine Easter Egg Pays Tribute To A Movie Ryan Reynolds Loves

This article contains extremely light spoilers for "Deadpool & Wolverine."

Like any human being with good taste, Ryan Reynolds loves John Candy. The star of the "Deadpool" movies has shared his appreciation for the late actor/comedian, who died at age 43 in 1994, multiple times on social media over the years, including when he shared this touching video tribute to Candy:

(I'd never seen that before, and was on the verge of tears when I watched it this morning.)

In 2020, Reynolds wrote on Instagram, "John Candy passed away 26 years ago today. He always walked that tightrope between hilarious and heartbreaking. His movies mean so much to me. If you haven't seen his work, check it out. He's absolutely beautiful." In 2023, word came out that he's even producing a documentary about Candy that's being directed by Colin Hanks. And as recently as last month, Reynolds randomly shared a meme about Candy in his Instagram stories.

So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that, when an opportunity arose to sneak a subtle Easter egg from one of Candy's most beloved classics into Marvel Studios' new blockbuster "Deadpool & Wolverine," Reynolds made it happen.

There's a literal Easter egg in the film, and more of a spiritual one as well. Let's talk about the literal one first: Deadpool and Wolverine have been sent to The Void, and after they blast out of Cassandra Nova's lair (but just before they meet Dogpool), you can see the wrecked and burnt car from "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and John Candy's character's trunk sitting in front of it on the ground in the wasteland. Does it technically make sense that these items from this other movie would be present in The Void? Nope! But in a film as meta as this one, where Reynolds' actual life is alluded to a few times via Blake Lively references, I suppose the film can get away with it.

The spiritual Easter egg comes a bit later, during a scene in which Deadpool and Wolverine are driving in a van and Wolverine goes off at Deadpool, insulting him and calling him a joke. The moment is so similar to the way Neal Page (Steve Martin) goes off on Del Griffith (John Candy) in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" that I fully expected Deadpool to actually respond by quoting Candy's famous "I like me" speech. That doesn't happen, of course, but this isn't the first time Deadpool has paid tribute to this particular movie.

In 2022, Reynolds went on David Letterman's Netflix series "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" and shared a story about a previous Easter egg that made its way into the first "Deadpool" movie:

"Growing up, I had a real obsession, quite genuinely, with John Candy. And I still do [...] I carry him with me in everything I do ... There's a book he's reading in 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles' called 'The Canadian Mounted' and it's supposed to be this nonfiction sort of soft porn, basically. Like one of those sorts of trash, way sub-Danielle Steel. We're talking nasty. He reads it in 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.' And I have that book. Not the exact one he's holding, but I had it remade for 'Deadpool.' I'm carrying it under my arm in a number of scenes. I don't think it's ever actually seen on camera, but it's just those little things that you try to never forget those people that have helped you grow you where you are."

That book is actually visible in "Deadpool & Wolverine." In Wade's locker, you can see a book that says "Northern Nymph" on it, which is printed on the back of the book that Del Griffith reads in the 1987 John Hughes comedy.

Reynolds also served as a Guest Programmer for Turner Classic Movies this past weekend and programmed the movie alongside "Grosse Point Blank":

And speaking of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (which Reynolds says he's had memorized for more than two decades), the actor tried to get to the bottom of a mystery lurking on that film's IMDb page back in 2021:

John Candy is trending as he does constantly in my mind and heart. But today I'd like to address @eltonofficial.... Does this song exist? And can I hear it? #JohnCandy pic.twitter.com/AhybYEDs5N

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 4, 2021

According to an L.A. Times article from 1987 (via ComicBook), the story is true. At the time, Osbourne explained, "We'd seen and loved the film, the lyric was written and Elton had almost finished the tune when we discovered Paramount wanted various things which were difficult to arrange [...] Contractually, the moment he creates a song, it's owned by PolyGram. Had the contract come through earlier, we might have been able to negotiate a transfer of the rights."

So if there ends up being a fourth "Deadpool" movie, keep your eyes peeled for another John Candy Easter egg among all of the R-rated jokes and fourth wall-breaking.