Upon watching the recently released trailer for Deadpool 2, you might have found it a little, well, absurd.

Once again playing the lead role, Ryan Reynolds’ character dons an orange ‘fro and clothing of artist Bob Ross, the late star of The Joy of Painting.

You know, the dude who did those instructional art videos you might have watched while high. Try this one on for size.

Anyway.

So, for one minute and 50 seconds, Deadpool, in this Bob Ross getup, imitates the late artist – complete with Ross’s soft, soothing voice – as he attempts to complete the movie’s Thanksgiving Day poster:

The trailer might be weirdly incredible, but it’s completely on-brand as it’s in line with the marketing strategy adopted by 20th Century Fox ahead of the 2016 release of Deadpool, reports NewsWeek:

Case in point: The special Deadpool-edited issue of Good Housekeeping, one of the weirdest movie tie-ins of all time. The November issue of the magazine includes instructions from the mercenary on how to carve a turkey (“To start, make sure your bird is well-rested”) and recipes for “D’s Spiced Nuts” and “Creamy Clam Skinny Dip.”

There was also a first-look reveal, back in July, of Deadpool newcomer Zazie Beetz as Domino, a fellow mutant merc. The tongue-in-cheek photo (Domino is using Deadpool as her personal rug) becomes hilarious when you realize its a meta reminder of the first glimpse of Reynolds as Deadpool in 2015.

Check it out:

Clever chickens – and, yes, there’s more:

Each trailer, clip and photo was intended to make you feel like you were in on a joke. Highlights included the emoji poster advertising “Skull Poop L,” and the official Deadpool Twitter with photos of the character celebrating a myriad of holidays, from Betty White’s birthday to World Cancer Day.

Think about it, and the movie, and it makes sense: Deadpool is notoriously “meta,” with the lead character fully aware he’s in a comic book. How many times did he speak to the camera?

But can the Deadpool brand keep it up? Well, Bob Ross is a good start:

How great are the colour names? No skaam.

[source:newsweek&consequenceofsound]