Real Housewives of Orange County‘s Heather Dubrow and Shannon Beador, it seems, have put aside their differences for a Deadpool & Wolverine ad, as Deadpool mastermind and star Ryan Reynolds continues to target the key broadcast demo of adults 18-49 — majority female — for his superhero sequel that is set to take over the box office.
In the promo for Marvel and Disney’s Deadpool 3, the Bravo stars get a surprise from Reynolds. He pens them a letter, thanking them for their “inspiration” for the movie’s story and advising them to “be good to each other,” as “that’s what friends are truly for.” They also each receive a gift: friendship heart necklaces, with Beador getting the Deadpool half and Dubrow receiving Wolverine’s.
The ad (below) then flashes back to nine months prior. Reynolds, behind on writing the script (which was written alongside Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells and director Shawn Levy), receives a call from Marvel boss Kevin Feige, who wants to know what he’s come up with for the story. Reynolds, who had been procrastinating by watching Bravo, takes inspiration from the women’s ongoing feud as RHOC plays in the background.
“The synopsis? Well, it’s really about the complexity of relationships,” he tells Feige over the phone as a RHOC montage of Beador and Dubrow plays. “See, Wolverine is misunderstood. His heart, it was broken like a delicate fondant. And Deadpool has to let go of the past so the two of them can heal their hearts.”
Beador and Dubrow’s rift brewed during season 16 of RHOC. Beador accused Dubrow’s husband Terry of botching Nicole James’ breast implant surgery. James sued the plastic surgeon but the lawsuit was dropped shortly after. Still, the ordeal was enough for Dubrow to threaten leaving the show. During the following season, tensions rose as Beador accused Dubrow of gossiping about her relationship with now-ex John Janssen.
Speaking recently with The Hollywood Reporter about the newly launched 17th season and her decision to discuss Beador’s love life on the show, Dubrow said, “Last year was difficult with Shannon, as it is usually for me with Shannon. She won’t agree with this, and that’s okay. But I had felt like she had told me things privately, as I kept saying ‘in the vault,’ that I wouldn’t repeat, and I never did. I only talked about things she had told other people, and I stand by this to this day.”
The RHOC and Deadpool 3 crossover ad follows a Deadpool & Wolverine spot that aired during The Bachelorette‘s recent season 21 premiere with Jenn Tran, also specifically targeting the key female demo. That message from both Reynolds and co-star Hugh Jackman, was that the superhero tentpole is, actually, a date movie. Reynolds, producing the ads via his production company Maximum Effort, entered The Bachelorette discourse after that ad released, and now he’s making it clear he’s up on Real Housewives drama, too.
