If you've seen Deadpool, then you know the third act in the movie takes place on what looks to be a very familiar Marvel set. It has caused much speculation and many arguments amongst fans. Now, this Easter egg has finally been confirmed by one of the movie's conceptual artists. Yes, that really is a Helicarrier as seen in the The Avengers movies. Sort of.

After seeing Deadpool, many fans adamantly claimed that the iconic Helicarrier had in fact made an unexpected cameo. But how was this possible? Marvel owns the rights to the vehicle. So how does Deadpool and Ajax end up fighting their final battle on the wrecked ship? Artist Emmanuel Shiu had this to say about the Helicarrier's inclusion, showing off a piece of concept art to io9 that is clearly marked 'Helicarrier'.

"[I] was asked to redesign the helicarrier so it looked as different as possible from the one in The Avengers. And it had to look like it had been taken apart in some places."

Don't worry. This is no indication that Deadpool will be hanging out with the Avengers anytime soon. It's simply a fun nod to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, done in a way that Fox wont get sued by Disney. As you can see, the new Helicarrier has been redesigned, and falls under parody use. It is different enough that there won't be any dispute between Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox. And it is never called 'Helicarrier' in the movie.

The Helicarrier is a flying aircraft used in the Avengers movie to transport various S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and the rest of the MCU superheroes. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we even witness the destruction of a Helicarrier. Is this the same ship that is seen in Deadpool? Perhaps, but no one from the Deadpool production team will ever admit that for obvious reasons.

The Helicarrier was mentioned in Mr. Sunday Movies' Deadpool Easter egg video, which took a deep dive into all the secrets hiding in the movie. Some of these references are obvious, with Ryan Reynolds' nods to his first appearance as the Merc With the Mouth in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and his critically-panned turn as Green Lantern in 2011. He also pokes fun at 20th Century Fox's X-Men universe that he's firmly entrenched in. During a scene where Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) tries to drag Deadpool back to the X-Mansion to see Professor X, the Merc responds by asking which Professor he's going to see, James McAvoy or Patrick Stewart. We also see the X-Mansion a number of times, the stealth ship Blackbird and there's even a crude reference to Beast.

Early on in the film there are references to the creators of the comic book series, Rob Liefeld, who appears in a bar scene and is actually mentioned by name by Wade Wilson, and Fabian Nicenza, whose name appears on two highway exit signs during the freeway chase/action sequence, along with a nod to director Tim Miller. There are also a few surprising nods to another iconic superhero, Spider-Man. Spider-Man is never mentioned by name, but Wade does say one of the comic's iconic lines, "Go get 'em, tiger," twice, along with the line "with great power comes great irresponsibility," a different twist on the words of wisdom Spidey lives by. During the freeway sequence, there is also a sign for Parker Boulevard, a nod to Peter Parker, and, after Wade is deformed by Ajax, he mentions that he looks like he was bitten by a radioactive sharpei, a reference to Parker being bitten by a radioactive spider.

Deadpool will most likely continue to succeed at the box office in the coming weeks and months ahead, and it's possible that fans may discover even more Easter Eggs throughout its theatrical run. 20th Century Fox is already working on Deadpool 2, which we can only hope will have as many Easter Eggs and references as its predecessor. Now we know for sure that the ship in Deadpool is in fact supposed to be a Helicarrier. Take a look at the concept art below.

Deadpool Conceot Art