Saskatchewan-born actor Style Dayne, who played “Jeremy the pizza guy” in the first Deadpool film, received a hero’s welcome at the event.
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Fans are yet again leaning into an off-colour joke made in the first Deadpool movie — when the main character claims to hail from Regina, Sask. — by temporarily renaming the province’s only IMAX theatre.
The lighthearted gimmick will see the Kramer IMAX Theatre referred to as the Wade Wilson IMAX Theatre for the run of Deadpool & Wolverine. Prior to the film’s local premiere on Thursday, an afternoon celebration was held at the IMAX’s Saskatchewan Science Centre location.
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“Deadpool is Regina’s home-grown Super Hero, and it’s time we embrace that,” stated Science Centre CEO Sandy Baumgartner in a news release. “By temporarily renaming ourselves as the Wade Wilson IMAX Theatre, we are recognizing our city as a cultural landmark for one of the most beloved Marvel characters.”
Deadpool fans were invited to attend Thursday’s celebration and take part in a ribbon-cutting event honouring the “Merc with a Mouth” by wearing their best cosplay outfits.
While Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds did not make a surprise appearance, Saskatchewan-born actor Style Dayne, who played “Jeremy the pizza guy” in the first film, received a hero’s welcome at the event. Dayne grew up in Assiniboia, a small town approximately 175 kilometres southwest of Regina. He was greeted with cheers and applause after he was introduced to speak at the ceremony.
The event also included a food truck that served “piping hot chimichangas,” a snack commonly referred to by Deadpool. A miniature statue of the character was unveiled and will be given away to “one lucky person” who has purchased a ticket to see the new movie at the IMAX.
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This isn’t the first time Deadpool has caused a stir in the Queen City. When the first movie came out in 2016, local fan Luke Oliver launched an online petition demanding a Deadpool statue be built in Regina. Then-mayor Michael Fougere did not jump on the bandwagon, instead posting a short but not so sweet message on social media in response to a CBC article at the time: “Nope.”
A second petition was started that still lives online and is stalled out at 1,141 signatures. A petition to get Deadpool on the “Welcome to Regina” sign was also started in 2020 and has 65 signatures.
Regina’s IMAX is one of the few remaining 15/70-millimetre theatres in the world, according to the Science Centre website. It also houses an IMAX GT Dual-Laser digital projection system.
Deadpool & Wolverine is scheduled to run until Aug. 8.
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