One Deadpool Easter egg cost Ryan Reynolds $10,000 out of pocket

Early in Deadpool (2016), Wade Wilson saunters through a scene in a cropped Bea Arthur tank top. That quick gag cost a real $10,000 — not for licensing through a studio bundle, but straight from Ryan Reynolds ’ pocket — because Arthur’s family okayed the image on one condition: the fee had to go to a charity of their choosing.

Reynolds pushed for the shirt to honor a long-running comics bit: Deadpool is a die-hard Golden Girls fan, and Arthur sits at the top of that shrine. Getting it into the movie was about carrying that specific, nerdy detail from the page to the screen, and the tank appears early to plant the flag.

“Potentially cinema ’s most expensive Easter egg ever.”

“As a producer, I had to approve that $10,000.”

He dropped those lines on the 20th Century Fox Blu-ray/DVD commentary, and later confirmed on social media that the money did indeed land with Arthur’s favorite charity. Per Empire’s recap of that track, he also joked that no Deadpool movie truly works without Arthur somewhere in the mix.

The comics receipts run deep: Deadpool has openly crushed on Arthur, hallucinated conversations with her, and even christened his team’s ship the Bea Arthur in the Deadpool Corps adventures. It’s the kind of hyper-specific lore nod that explains why a tank top became a line item.

What’s next for Deadpool

At Fanatics Fest in July 2026, Reynolds said another Deadpool film is coming “eventually” and promised it’ll be worth the wait. There’s no release date yet from Marvel Studios, but he said he’s already involved in early writing on the next chapter.

• Deadpool (2016)
• Deadpool 2 (2018)
• Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Reynolds also name-checked deep-cut comics he still wants to mine, citing co-creator Fabian Nicieza as a touchstone and praising friend Gerry Duggan for runs he thinks could translate to the screen.

Outside the red suit, Reynolds’ live-action /animation hybrid Animal Friends is dated for January 22, 2027 .