Regina IMAX renamed “Wade Wilson IMAX Theatre” for ‘Deadpool’ release

Regina’s IMAX theatre put in a “maximum effort” to get Disney to sign off on a very special name change.

For the next two weeks, the Kramer IMAX Theatre will be known as the Wade Wilson IMAX Theatre, named after the titular character in Marvel’s “Deadpool” comics and the movie series of the same title.

Played by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool claimed to be from Regina in the first movie. The theatre’s name change comes on the same day as the release of the third Deadpool movie, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’

“We just pitched ideas,” explained Sandy Baumgartner, CEO of the Saskatchewan Science Centre.

“Everything we do, we do in partnership with IMAX, and they pitch ideas to Disney on our behalf… (We) came up with some ideas, brought them forward, lots of times they’d say, ‘No, that’s kinda not what we’re looking for.’”

But the media giant agreed to a two-week name change on the Regina IMAX Theatre for the release of the new film, which is expected to be a major summer blockbuster.

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Baumgartner said she’s excited to see the movie herself.

“I’m looking for the surprise guest appearances that I’ve heard there’s numerous. So I’m curious on who they are. I’m looking forward to some of the humour and the Canadian references, ‘cause I’m told that there’s a lot of references to things that are iconically Canadian,” said Baumgartner.

Regina resident Style Rayne was also in attendance for the “officially unofficial” renaming ceremony. Rayne is a Canadian actor who appeared in the first Deadpool movie as Jeremy “the pizza guy.”

“The process of filming the first Deadpool, there was a lot of improv in the scenes, and we were able to shy away from the script quite a bit,” recalled Rayne.

Rayne got to share the screen with Reynolds, and even received a kiss from the renowned actor. Rayne said it took 66 takes to perfect the scene, and he still remembers Deadpool’s pizza order: “Pineapple and olive, burnt crust.”

“I have a feeling that that synergy that Ryan found when he brought Regina to the script is ‘cause he knew that at his heart and at Wade Wilson’s core, this is where he lives,” said Rayne.

Although the “Free Guy” actor wasn’t in Regina for the renaming ceremony, Reynolds has been to the Queen City in the past. He starred in the 2005 romantic comedy “Just Friends,” which was shot in Regina.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ was released in the Wade Wilson IMAX Theatre on Thursday.