A promotional image for Stray Kids' latest mini-album "ATE" / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment
K-pop boy band Stray Kids has teamed up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman for a collaboration for the film "Deadpool & Wolverine."
Stray Kids' agency, JYP Entertainment, announced Tuesday in a press release that the group has released a new single, "SLASH" — an original song for the soundtrack of the latest Marvel film "Deadpool & Wolverine."
The agency explained that the new track was produced by 3RACHA, a producing team within Stray Kids consisting of members Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, alongside renowned K-pop composer VERSACHOI. Directly inspired by past Deadpool films, the song is a result of the "special friendship between the two lead actors and Stray Kids," according to JYP.
The connection between the K-pop icon and the MCU heroes dates back to 2021.
The cover of "SLASH," an original song for the soundtrack of Marvel's "Deadpool & Wolverine" by Stray Kids / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment
In 2021, Stray Kids performed a stage inspired by the Deadpool character during the group's appearance on Mnet's survival reality show "Kingdom: Legendary War." Deadpool actor Reynolds highlighted the performance on his social media, forging a connection with the K-pop group.
This collaboration evolved further this year with the upcoming release from the Deadpool franchise, with the Stray Kids members interviewing Reynolds and Jackman, the two lead actors of the upcoming film, "Deapool & Wolverine," for its promotional events in Korea earlier this month.
The partnership continued with Reynolds and Jackman appearing in the music video for Stray Kids' latest lead single, "Chk Chk Boom," released on Friday. Dressed as Deadpool and Wolverine in the video, the two Marvel heroes helped Stray Kids clinch the top spot of YouTube's worldwide trending chart on the day of its video release.
Stray Kids is currently looking forward to headlining the U.S. music festival Lollapalooza in Chicago on Aug. 2. The group will also kick off its large-scale world tour, "dominATE," starting in Seoul on Aug. 24 and 25 then Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
"Deadpool & Wolverine" is released in Korea on Wednesday.