Spoilers for “Deadpool & Wolverine” follow.
The soundtrack to Shawn Levy’s new superhero flick “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the 158th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is chock-full of sarcastic needle drops and overblown musical cues, wielded specifically to amp up the movie’s irony. “Deadpool & Wolverine” opens with a violent fight scene wherein Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) murders dozens of people using the adamantium bones of the deceased Logan as weapons. On the soundtrack, *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” plays, adding a silly, upbeat quality to the violence.
Later in the film, Deadpool and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) will get into a knock-down, stab-happy fight in a Honda minivan, spraying their own blood all over the car’s interior (luckily, they both heal quickly, so the fight can last for hours without either of them dying). As they fight, one of them smacks the radio, and “You’re the One That I Want” from “Grease” plays on the soundtrack. It’s a jaunty, happy tune that serves as a comedic tonal juxtaposition to the slicing and dicing.
Also on the soundtrack is Chris de Burgh’s “The Lady in Red,” Eric Carman’s “Make Me Lose Control,” and Patsy Cline’s “You Belong to Me.” The soundtrack is as mellow as the film is raucous.
It seems that, in addition to all of the ironic song cues, Reynolds originally envisioned a notable Elton John song on the soundtrack as well. According to a recent interview on BBC1, the actor (who also co-wrote and produced the movie) really, really wanted “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” for a scene in an early draft.