The 'Deadpool And Wolverine' Popcorn Buckets Break The Mold With Unusual Design Choice

Calling the popcorn bucket for the upcoming Deadpool And Wolverine movie crass would be an understatement. The merch has fans rolling with laughter since it avoids the traditional route of featuring a logo, promotional image, or associated graphic. Instead, the popcorn bucket has an original feel to it.

For anyone still out of the loop, the Wolverine-themed bucket sports an open mouth where popcorn gets dispersed, although the orifice is visibly wide enough for more than hands to fit into. It also possesses a noticeable tongue in the design, which feels unnecessary unless the marketing department wanted to make the bucket as realistic as possible. That explanation, however, lacks rationale. If the intent were to be authentic, then the face displayed on the bucket would have teeth drawn on at the very least, except the detail is nowhere to be seen—almost as though the mouth is supposed to suggest its use in a provocative way. Of course, the most probable explanation is that the design was supposed to resemble Wolverine performing his signature scream, but in execution, the shape took on other meanings.

Speculation aside, audiences should prepare for the R-rated themes in Deadpool And Wolverine referencing explicitly mature acts. The trailer, alone, depicts Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) grinding on Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) after they land on top of each other, which is already testing boundaries as it is. Deadpool also makes a joke about pulling his knife out of Wolvie's rear end, so that joke is undoubtedly the first of many references to Wilson pegging his six-clawed buddy.

In another instance, Wilson explicitly talks about rear-entry play when the TVA comes searching for him—simultaneously namedropping Disney during the same sequence. One might assume that the production would attempt to distance its crude remarks from the Disney trademark, except Shawn Levy went in the opposite direction by having his titular antihero do the most meta thing and make Disney a part of the gag. Levy avoids going too far as to make the company the butt of the joke, although the director leans further into pegging humor.

The Dirtier, The Better

Regardless, the Wolverine popcorn bucket is bound to attract the wrong type of attention, especially since the internet is as unhindered as it is. With no shortage of adult content and superhero-themed parodies to go along with them, interested parties can assume adolescents are online miming lewd acts with the buckets. For all we know, the props will debut in full-fledged XXX titles. Then again, the Wolverine-themed merch will probably have to get blurred out since Marvel and Disney are selective about which products are associated with their brand.

Even without the temptation to indulge in sophomoric humor, the teaser promoting the Deadpool And Wolverine buckets is equally provocative. Its quick montage of shots depicts butter slowly dripping over the mask portion, mimicking how a particular adult-themed stunt gets framed during climaxes. The overt nature is easily explainable in polite conversation, but anyone privy to the act in question knows what the bucket trailer references with its butter shot.

One rebuttal to the sexually suggestive nature is that Disney is playing off the Dune popcorn gags with their own spin on it. The Dune Part Two promotional merchandise had slews of fans comparing the props to unwieldy genitals, and now, the Deadpool and Wolverine merch is using that same train of thought to promote a product that appears innocuous at first, but from an alternate perspective, can fit an entirely different context.

Where Are The Deadpool Popcorn Buckets?

What Disney should begin to worry about are the Deadpool-themed buckets that are bound to be equally incendiary. The teaser only featured merchandise with the Wolverine helmet, but since the movie has both Wolvie and Deadpool in it, merchandise will also include a bucket for the latter. Mind you, Disney could have another product intended for Wade Wilson. Perhaps a drink cup will accompany the popcorn bucket. It does feel apropos that a promotional push would include multiple items rather than just a bucket, especially for a high-profile movie like Deadpool And Wolverine.

Whether the marketing campaign includes a product tied to Deadpool or not, fans are bound to take matters into their own hands if things turn out differently. A rudimentary prototype could be rubber or 3D-printed within hours and then, with a few minor tweaks, can be attached to a generic bucket. All Disney can do in response is sit back and hope fans avoid getting too carried away. The internet has a way of letting things get out of hand, after all.

Hopefully, the marketing team will run with the raunchy themes in Deadpool And Wolverine and promote other likeminded products regardless of the backlash. Merchandise for films generally leans into the same style, so perhaps Disney has similar ideas in store. Decals on graphic tees would be perfect canvases for jokes referencing Deadpool quotes or gruff responses by Logan to sexually charged dialogue. The trailer highlighted a gag about Wade getting a knife stuck inside his comrade, and that interaction alone sounds like the perfect material to plaster on a graphic tee. Deadpool impaling Wolverine also feels like something that will become an ongoing theme in the film.

The product line for the movie should be interesting, nonetheless. Whether Disney gives audiences the crass fanfare they deserve or keeps promotional material focused on action themes like most superhero movies do, the Wolverine popcorn bucket has opened the floodgates, and it's only a matter of time before interested parties give Wolvie’s face a function it was never supposed to have.

Deadpool And Wolverine debuts in theaters on July 26, 2024.