Details on PG-13 Deadpool 2 re-release titled Once Upon a Deadpool

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Well, we've been hearing about it for a while and now we have a title: ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL is the title for the recut PG-13 version of DEADPOOL 2 that will grace theaters in a limited run from December 12th – December 24th, complete with a shorter running time (by three minutes) and additional scenes shot especially for this version that star Fred Savage and Ryan Reynolds (as Deadpool, of course) in a recreation of THE PRINCESS BRIDE's scenes that showcased a young Savage being told the film's story by his grandfather, now with a grown Savage and a regular Deadpool (Reynolds) reading the story. These scenes (eight in total) will be comprised of "interstitial additions" to the cut-down violence and suggestive content. THE PRINCESS BRIDE aspect was brought to Reynolds via DEADPOOL screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and a day of guerilla-style filmmaking was put on deck to make the new scenes possible.

Reynolds, who co-wrote and produced DEADPOOL 2 and has long been a champion of the franchise, said he relented to the idea of a PG-13 DEADPOOL re-release under two conditions:

“Fox has been asking for a PG-13 basically since the start in 2006. I’ve said no since 2006. Now, this one time, I said ‘Yes’ on two conditions. First, a portion of the proceeds had to go to charity. Second, I wanted to kidnap Fred Savage. The second condition took some explaining…”

Reynolds explained the charity aspect to Deadline, saying:

“Because it’s the season of giving, we will also be giving $1 for every ticket sold to F-ck Cancer, which will be renamed Fudge Cancer just for this limited time and campaign.”

While this may seem like a nice little charity venture for the holiday season and a tiny bonus for hardcore DEADPOOL fans, there's simply no way that Disney isn't looking at this as an opportunity to test the waters on a PG-13 DEADPOOL as they prepare to acquire all things R-rated from Fox, including the massive runaway hit that is the DEADPOOL franchise. For audiences, it will be a test to see what a PG-13 DEADPOOL film actually looks like and if it really makes that big of a difference. Certainly the language would have to be toned down, but given how much movies get away with on the violence scale these days, I have to wonder if they have to cut much at all (minus Deadpool getting halved by Juggernaut, I'm sure). Either way, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out and if fans turn out or turn their noses to this little venture.

ONCE UPON A DEADPOOL will run in limited engagements from December 12th – December 24th.

Will you be checking this out?