Deadpool 2: Wade Wilson Tributes Say Anything In New Photo

Deadpool isn't just the Merc with a Mouth, he's also the master of movie references. 

A new snap from Deadpool 2 shows Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson honoring the classic 1989 film Say Anything..., directed by Cameron Crowe and led by John Cusack and Ione Skye. The romantic comedy-drama features an oft-imitated scene that has become a lynchpin of '80s cinema and one of the most recognized pieces of film in modern history: Cusack's Lloyd Dobler attempts to win back Skye's Diane Court by standing underneath her open bedroom window, holding over his head a boombox that's blaring Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," the song that was playing when the two slept together for the first time. 

Deadpool holds a more portable music-maker in the latest Deadpool 2 photo, an Entertainment Weekly exclusive, and has a less intimate but still meaningful motivation for bumping some tunes. 

Actor Reynolds explained to the outlet that Wade Wilson is much friendlier in the sequel, something he's forced to do in order to protect the teen mutant Russell (Hunt for the Wilderpeople star Julian Dennison) from the time-traveling, telepathic malefactor Cable (Josh Brolin). To take down Cable and keep Russell from turning into the villain's punching bag, Deadpool assembles his own "super-duper f***ing group"called the X-Force, which includes Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), and everyone's favorite dad Peter (Rob Delaney). Deadpool hopes bonafide X-Men member Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) will be a part of the team, and to persuade him to join, he serenades him with a little song. 

"Wade has settled into his new life and new looks and settled into everything else, in particular his relationship, in a pretty positive way. But he's also a victim of his own hubris once we start the movie, and that's what sort of creates the conflicts and the issues he has to deal with," Reynolds said of the upcoming sequel. "There are a lot of different nods to films that we all loved growing up."

Directed by David Leitch, Deadpool 2 is due out on May 18.