Ryan Reynolds Edits Rob McElhenney Into All of His Non-‘Deadpool’ Movies As A Birthday Gift
Rob McElhenney may not be a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but, today, on his 48th birthday, McElhenney has finally joined the even-more-exclusive ranks of the “Background Actors in The Proposal” Club.
This year, McElhenney’s birthday comes at an unfortunate time for the beloved It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator and Wrexham A.F.C. co-owner. His second acclaimed comedy series, Mythic Quest, just got canned by AppleTV+, which will stream the revised Season Four/series finale of Mythic Quest this Wednesday before it’s a sudden game over for the workplace comedy. Over the past year, McElhenney has restarted work on his flagship franchise Always Sunny ahead of its Season 17 premiere, he flew out to the set of Deadpool & Wolverine to appear in a single scene underneath heavy costuming that would have obscured his face, and then learned that his professional, creative and life partner Ryan Reynolds cut him out of said blockbuster film after all they’d been through.
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During this strange time for his spurned friend, Reynolds is resolved to make McElhenney’s 48th birthday bash one for the ages — and one that will extend his friend’s IMDb page by about a dozen credits. Earlier today, Reynolds posted his half-happy birthday, half-apology message to McElhenney in the form of a hilarious Twitter video wherein some talented editor inserted clips of McElhenney from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia into several non-Marvel-property films starring Reynolds, with the subtext of the mashup being, “Can I offer a role in R.I.P.D. in this trying time?”
Sure, McElhenney making masterfully edited appearances in all the non-blockbusters from Reynolds’ long career in the movie business probably isn’t going to make up for the fact that his friend cut him from a billion-dollar movie, and, yeah a spot in Red Notice doesn’t dampen the sting of Mythic Quest’s cancellation. However, in Reynolds’ long-standing tradition of commissioning comical and public birthday videos for his best bud, the above mashup, scored to a mournful version of the song “You Will Be Found” from the musical Dear Evan Hanson, must at least crack a smile on McElhenney’s chiseled, scruffy face. And since McElhenney will never have to put on that TVA suit again, that’s a smile Reynolds will be happy to see.
Still, during a time in McElhenney’s career when he just lost a significant revenue stream in Mythic Quest, it seems like a missed opportunity that Reynolds didn’t properly monetize this year’s birthday wish — who didn’t love buying a Titanic-themed tote bag bearing McElhenney’s splendorous chest hair after his 47th birthday video?
