Turns out, Deadpool is an *NSYNC fan!
Four out of five members of the group (Justin Timberlake is currently on his Forget Tomorrow world tour) attended the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine on Monday (July 22) at New York City’s David H. Koch Theater. JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick were seen posing on the red and yellow carpet together in videos circulating social media.
The appearance isn’t completely random, as *NSYNC’s 2000 hit “Bye Bye Bye” is featured on the film’s eclectic soundtrack, alongside tracks like Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You,” Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” Fergie’s “Glamorous,” “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman and “You’re the One that I Want” from Grease, among many others.
Per the film’s description, Deadpool & Wolverine follows Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), who has left his time as Deadpool behind before the Time Variance Authority, which monitors the timeline in which we exist, calls him in for a new mission and pairs him up with an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to save the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Reynolds recently opened up to SiriusXM about how he and Jackman were able to convince Madonna to approve the use of “Like a Prayer” in Deadpool & Wolverine. “It did involve a personal visit to Madonna, where we showed Madonna the sequence where ‘Like a Prayer’ would be used,” the film’s director Shawn Levy said.
Reynolds added, “Also, let’s preface it with the fact that they don’t license — that Madonna doesn’t just license the song, particularly that song. It was a big deal to ask for it and certainly a bigger deal to use it. We went over and met with her and and sort of showed her how it was being used, and where, and why.”
Madonna ended up granting them permission to use “Like a Prayer” and even provided some ideas on how to use the classic track in the film. “She gave a great note,” Reynolds recalled. “She watched it, and I’m not kidding, [she said], ‘You need to do this.’ And damn it, if she wasn’t like spot on.”
Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on Friday (July 26).