Playing with genre hybridity: marketing Deadpool (2016)

As audiences get ever more aware of media conventions, producers are playing on our expectations more and more. The upcoming superhero film Deadpool is currently causing ripples with fans of the genre and casual audiences alike. The Deadpool comics are already famous for breaking and subverting genre conventions, and the protagonist will frequently break the fourth wall with a direct mode of address to the audience.

So it's no surprise that the advertising campaign for the film has once again subverted expectations. Often superhero films feature hybrid elements, such as splashes of romance and crime genre conventions. Generally these conventions are pushed aside when it comes to the main focus of most superhero films: to use a standard action formula to deliver pleasure to an audience who know exactly what they are getting. But what happens if you isolate the romance conventions?

The following posters present Deadpool not as a superhero film but as a romance film. Have a look and see what generic conventions of the romance genre you can identify. What reaction will this get from the genre's traditionally and predominantly male fan-base? Will it potentially attract a new audience? Will it hurt the chances of the film at box office? Or will it be a successful marketing stunt?

Images via Just Jared.

Thanks to Hatesh in U block for both suggesting and researching this post!