Weeks after Stray Kids teased that they were cooking something special with “besties” Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman amid their Deadpool & Wolverine South Korea tour, the K-pop group’s epic collab with the former has officially been revealed.
On Saturday, June 13 (KST), the eight-piece K-pop band dropped their first music video for their upcoming comeback, “Chk Chk Boom!” The highly anticipated video for the lead single for their forthcoming mini-album, “ATE!” will arrive on Friday, July 19, at 1 p.m. KST.
Beckoning the arrival of the octet’s new comeback next week, the Chk Chk Boom MV teaser again captures them in their usual hard-hitting signature style. All members of the group – Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N – are seen donning charismatic personas for their cinematic video, boasting the commonly featured high-production design value. However, this time, Stray Kids are not alone.
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Their dear friend, Ryan Reynolds, comes along for a surprise appearance as a TV news anchor in his blink-and-you-miss-it cameo for the video’s opening. Another easter egg, you ask? Seungmin appears to be holding a weapon that shares a striking resemblance with the Time Variance Authority’s pruning baton, as seen in both seasons of Marvel’s Loki TV series.
Catch a glimpse of Ryan Reynolds in Stray Kids’ new music video teaser
Bang Chan and Felix, the group’s Australian members, introduced Reynolds and Jackman as “Stray Kids’ besties” following their broadcast together. “We’re so excited to show you all the awesome things we have in store! Stay tuned,” the duo fired up alarming anticipation. The fandom was lost to an exhilarating frenzy as netizens dove into deep speculations about what was coming ahead.
Eventually, the Deadpool star also shared a short video, calling Bang Chan and Felix “two of his favourite Australians.” His social media posts hilariously poked fun at his longtime friend and co-star Hugh Jackman, as he wrote: “I successfully negotiated a trade. Wolverine will be the newest and only member of Stray Kids. And the entire band will join the MCU. We wish Hugh Jackman all the best on his K-pop journey.”
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But guess what? It turns out Ryan had already dropped the bombshell on us, and we never noticed. “As they say in Seoul: Chk Chk Boom!,” he captioned his initial video post on July 5.
The beloved Hollywood duo landed in South Korea on July 3 for Deadpool & Wolverine promotions. As part of one of their first buzzworthy events, Reynolds, Jackman and the movie’s director Shawn Levy came out for an interview in the traditional Korean attire ‘hanbok.’ The interviewer instantly divulged the praiseworthy fact that their outfits were actually designed by the same artist who curated BLACKPINK’s Coachella outfits. Just hearing them say that, the Deadpool actor exclaimed, “Love BLACKPINK… and Stray Kids, we love Stray Kids.”
Reynolds first met the Stray Kids leader, Bang Chang, via video call in 2021 for a “Free Guy” interview. The Marvel actor has expressed his love for the group on several occasions, so it was about time that he and the K-pop idol finally met.
Fans were in utter disbelief when Marvel Korea’s official social media page shared a glimpse of the new Deadpool movie’s stars with Bang Chan and Felix. Theories instantly took flight as fans mulled over the possibility of a Stray Kids OST for the forthcoming July 26 premiere. Others also speculated if the group members would strike a starry cameo in the upcoming movie. However, now it appears to be the opposite case.
It remains to be seen if fellow Australian actor Hugh Jackman will feature in the video alongside Reynolds. As far as the first Chk Chk Boom preview goes, Ryan seems to be going it alone for this K-pop side quest.
Possibility of Stray Kids’ Marvel connection?
Call it destiny or a pre-meditated game plan, Ryan’s repeated interactions with Stray Kids over the years now seem to be a part of something bigger. While it could just be a heartfelt reflection of the actor’s admiration for the group, one can’t ignore the years-old Marvel-Stray Kids easter eggs now.
Back in November 2022, the Miss Minutes X/Twitter page welcomed Deadpool to the ever-expanding universe of the MCU, but on Disney’s side this time. The cryptic tweet read, “Hey there @Deadpool,” it said, “Love, Miss Minutes.” Reynolds subsequently responded, “Hello, Miss Minutes.” Following this initial interaction with the actor who’s endlessly professed his love for the K-pop group, the same page name-dropped Stray Kids: “Looking for song recommendations for the TVA, anyone know any good songs by Stray Kids?”
These networking transactions again push one to question if Stray Kids’ potential appearance (in whatever shape) in the Marvel universe is still up for debate. It might as well be another bombastic card reveal up the stars’ sleeves, especially since Ryan Reynolds already pointed out that“the entire band will join the MCU,” even if so jokingly. After all, he did spoil his own Chk Chk Boom cameo, so what’s stopping another one of his unpredictable spoilers hiding in plain sight from coming true?