Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have already brought a touch of Hollywood to Wrexham – now the club could be at the heart of a true FA Cup blockbuster.
The Welsh football side could face Manchester United or Manchester City – two of England’s biggest clubs – in Monday night’s FA Cup fifth-round draw.
It comes after the National League outfit came just minutes from pulling off a famous David-and-Goliath-style giant-killing against Sheffield United – a team three leagues above them in England’s football pyramid – on Sunday night.
A late equaliser meant Wrexham were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw – and a tough away replay – against their Championship opponents.
Club co-owner Reynolds, star of Marvel hit Deadpool, watched on from the stands as the emotional rollercoaster of a match played out below, later describing it as “one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen”.
Tweeting after the match, he said: “When Rob and I got into this it all felt so impossible. But impossible is Wrexham’s favourite colour.
“That was one of the most exciting things I’ve EVER seen. Thank you each and every Wrexham supporter who came out and aimed your heart at that pitch tonight.”
Speaking to the media before the match, Reynolds also reiterated his desire to push the club into the Premier League.
While Wrexham fans will no doubt share the actor’s lofty ambitions, the club still has a long way to go, sitting four leagues below English football’s promised land.
But they could get a taste of Premier League life if they can win their FA Cup replay away at Sheffield United on 7 February – and draw one of the remaining big teams in the competition.
Wrexham, the only remaining National League side, could also face Premier League sides Tottenham, West Ham, Leicester City or Brighton.
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However, it will be a tie with 12-time winners Manchester United or current Premier League champions Manchester City that will really fit the Hollywood script for Wrexham.
It could prove a lucrative tie for the National League side, too. A draw against a Premier League side could earn Wrexham more than £200,000 in TV broadcasting income.
In 2017, Sutton United, then in the National League, earned £710,000 from an FA Cup run where they were eventually knocked out by Arsenal in the fifth round.
Wrexham still have to overcome Sheffield United in next month’s replay – but will be hopeful though of pulling off an upset.
On Sunday, the club became the first non-League team since the creation of the Football League in 1888 to score three goals in the first, second, third and fourth rounds of the competition.
They beat Oldham 3-0 in the first round, followed by a 4-1 win against Farnborough in the second, before beating Coventry City 4-3 in a dramatic third-round tie.
And they will be buoyed by the sensational form of striker Paul Mullin, whose goal on Sunday meant he became the first player since 1984-85 from a non-League club to net consecutive goals in the first, second, third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup.
With a superhero-playing owner, a lethal striker and the prospect of a near-undefeatable foe, Wrexham could be about to pen a story worthy of a true Hollywood epic.
