On July 17, 2024, the soundtrack for Marvel blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine was announced ahead of the film’s release on July 24. The album featured iconic tracks including NSYNC’s Bye Bye Bye, Fergie’s Glamorous, and The Greatest Show from “The Greatest Showman.” Amongst these renowned artists, only one original track was revealed as being produced for the film: SLASH by Kpop group Stray Kids. 

Stray Kids’ feature on the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack has warranted every reaction from “Finally!” to “Who?”. After all, in the midst of what can only be considered the heyday of Korean pop music, and with artists such as BTS and Blackpink making global waves on a daily basis, Stray Kids may seem an unusual choice as the first Kpop group to feature on a Marvel original soundtrack. 

While the name Stray Kids may not be known to some, the eight-piece boy group has proven themselves time and time again as the perfect choice for Deadpool & Wolverine. They have solidified their immense international success, epitomised by becoming the first Korean group in history to perform a stadium show in Sydney later this year. They have made several Deadpool-esque references through the breaking of the fourth wall in their videos. But, most crucially, Stray Kids’ feature on the Deadpool OST has been years, and years, in the making.

Since the initial interaction, Reynolds and Stray Kids have built a friendly rapport online, including the exchange of signed albums and gin bottles. The leader of Stray Kids, Bang Chan, also interviewed Reynolds online during his promotions for Free Guy in 2021, marking the first (virtual) meeting between the group and actor. 

Since these early exchanges in 2021, the occasional online interaction has continued to spur on early rumours, or perhaps mere hopes, of a collaboration between the Deapool actor and Stray Kids. Over the years, Reynolds shared annual birthday messages for leader Bang Chan, and has posted the group’s music several times on his stories, a subtle reminder that their friendship was still alive and well. 

Dropping online on July 23 2024, a day before the film’s actual release, SLASH is the epitome of Stray Kids’ coined “mala-taste” genre, a cacophony of noise and sound that has become synonymous with the group’s music. Another pleasant surprise was the song actually being Korean, unusual for major films that often feature purely English tracks, even if they are created by foreign artists. From the start, SLASH instantly screamed “Stray Kids” - which makes perfect sense, considering the track was written and produced by members Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, who are responsible for the entirety of the group’s discography. 

As the group members themselves commented, SLASH makes listeners “feel like they’re watching a spectacular fight scene in the movie”.

Along with the group’s feature on the soundtrack, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman made a surprise appearance in Stray Kids’ music video for their song Chk Chk Boom, released on July 19, complete with their superhero costumes and acting personas. The video has since amassed over 80 million views, and has generated significant traction online from fans and non-fans alike. 

While promoting the movie in Korea, Reynolds and Jackman were also interviewed by Stray Kids’ members, and fellow Australians, Bang Chan and Felix. At another press stop, Reynolds even suggested he had wanted the group to cameo in the Deadpool film, but that it had unfortunately not worked out. Ultimately, the buzz surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine and Stray Kids was seemingly amounting to something, with Reynolds mentioning the group at every possible moment during the press tour. 

Being the movie’s only original track, coupled with the frankly incredible promotion that Reynolds seemed to be offering the group, fans’ anticipation for Deadpool and SLASH had reached an all-time high, and speculation as to which high-intensity action scene the track would play over spread rapidly up until the film’s release. 

When the movie did finally hit cinemas on July 24, fans’ excitement quickly turned to disappointment with the realisation that the track was not actually featured during the film - or, if it was, no one could figure out exactly which scene it was played in. 

Following such an intense build up to the group’s involvement in the soundtrack, the reaction to not hearing SLASH in the film was all the more palpable. Fans have spent hours deciphering each detail of the movie to figure out where the track played, or have even denounced the film and wished that SLASH had not been a part of the soundtrack at all. 

“watch me hold up my wolfchan plush for a photo with “Slash” even though i didnt hear it in the film nor the end credit,” commented one user on TikTok. 

“POV: You wait until the end of Deadpool and Wolverine to hear Slash by Stray Kids but it’s only the instrumentals,” posted another.

“enough time has passed - Slash was too good for deadpool,” says one X post, and the comments overwhelmingly agree. 

The response of Stray Kids fans to SLASH’s inclusion, or lack of, in the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack has now begun to overshadow what an incredible achievement this is, and undermine the connection between the group and Ryan Reynolds. While it may be legitimate to question why the only original track created for a film - and the only one in a foreign language - seemingly does not even appear in the movie, it is unfortunate that what should have been something to celebrate has been turned into another online fanwar. 

As a fan, it is understandably upsetting to arrive at the final credits of a film, still waiting for a song to play, and realising it never will. Nevertheless, becoming the first and only Korean group to produce an original song for a Marvel film is an incredible achievement, and one that should not be downplayed by the disappointment of not having the track play over a slo-mo fight scene. The unlikely friendship between Ryan Reynolds and Stray Kids seems in all ways to be a legitimate and genuine one, and it is still amazing to see it amount to something at last - their names on the credits of a Marvel movie. 

Emma Peters is a third-year student at UNSW, currently completing a Bachelor of Media, majoring in Journalism. She is extremely passionate about all things related to pop culture and music, especially K-pop. You can most likely find her singing her heart out at a concert, or otherwise crying her eyes out while looking through concert videos.