IF has an incredible Deadpool reference you almost definitely missed

The new Ryan Reynolds movie, IF, has an unexpected reference to Deadpool, but you would have certainly missed it if you didn’t hang around.

IF, which hit theaters on May 15, is an exploration of childhood imagination and grief that follows a young girl, Bea (Cailey Fleming), as she attempts to help rehome a group of imaginary friends, known as “IFs”. (Check out our full IF review for more!)

Directed and written by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds, the new movie has an army of celebrity voices behind it, but there’s one hidden cast member who contains a cheeky wink to Reynolds’ superhero movie.

During the credits, after a long list of A-list voices that includes the likes of George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, and Matt Damon, audiences can catch Brad Pitt’s name among the roster. For those scratching their heads, convinced that they didn’t hear Pitt’s voice during the family adventure, their questions are valid as Brad Pitt plays an invincible, voiceless imaginary friend called Keith.

Although he has a credit, saying: “Introducing Brad Pitt as Keith”, Pitt’s voice or likeness does not appear in IF, since Keith is invisible. A running gag throughout has various characters tripping up over Keith, who loves to lay down in front of people.

Being invisible, we do not hear or see Keith at any point, so it seems a bit redundant to have Pitt be credited. However, this is almost certainly a throwback to the character he played in Deadpool 2. In the superhero sequel, Pitt played The Vanisher — a hero who is completely unseen until he’s horrifically electrocuted in the big parachuting sequence.

It made for a great joke at the time, and is now echoed in Krasinski’s film, where he returns as another invisible character.

When it comes to Pitt’s involvement with Deadpool 2, the movie’s writer, Paul Wernick, said [via The Hollywood Reporter]: “We never saw Vanisher in the original script. He was always a mystery… when he got tangled up…we just thought, ‘Oh my god, what a perfect idea for a celebrity cameo.’ And then we thought, ’Who is the hardest get in Hollywood? Let’s call him.’”

Deadpool will return in Deadpool & Wolverine, which comes to theaters on July 26. For more, check out our guide to every Deadpool & Wolverine cameo we know so far and our Deadpool & Wolverine trailer breakdown.