‘It’s like hard R’: ‘Deadpool 3’ star on the threequel’s tone, but fans call him out for misconstruing the meaning of ‘hard R’

It’s been quite an exciting day for Deadpool 3 fans. 

After set photos revealed our first look at Ryan Reynold’s Merc in full costume, we are now getting an encouraging update from Dopinder himself as to how this foul-mouthed, R-rated anti-hero will operate under Disney’s jurisdiction. According to Karan Soni, this movie will be a “hard R” film with just as much grit as the previous two. However, the internet was quick to point out that maybe “hard R” wasn’t the right term to have used. 

In speaking with ComicBook.com, Karan revealed that he’s already begun working on the highly-anticipated threequel and is heartened by what he’s seen so far. Even though the MCU’s strictness has limited how much of the script he’s been able to read, he has still gotten a few glimpses which, according to him, are “very, very exciting.”

Aside from calling Reynolds a “creative genius,” Karan also says that he is feeling “very optimistic” about this “massive sandbox” they now get to play in. 

“I have begun working on that one, so I can say that it is the same as the other two. It’s like hard R. There’s a lot of that stuff. So it does not feel different. The only thing that, for me, is different is that I have not gotten the script this time. The other two, we did get it, it’s a big difference, at least for me, the MCU part of it vs. the Fox/Marvel part of it. They’re so strict. So I’ve only seen glimpses of what I’m in.

“When I did some of the stuff, I saw some things that I didn’t know were in the thing. I think, I would just say it this way: Ryan [Reynolds] doesn’t need to do any of these movies unless he gets to do his version of it and he is such a star, and, I don’t need to say this, a creative genius. He’s taking this opportunity and really pushing everything and, definitely, he’s doing a lot of cool stuff. I feel very optimistic about it. Him and [director] Shawn [Levy], they work so well together, that I think it will be really exciting for people to see how they take their collaborations that they’ve done, now successfully twice, in this new version and play in this massive sandbox with a lot of stuff. It is very, very exciting. I will not underestimate Ryan Reynolds.”

Now, it’s clear Karan meant no harm by saying “hard R.” However, within minutes of his quote going live, the internet picked up on his gaffe and tossed their proverbial arms up in exasperation. For those not in the know, “hard R” is slang for the N-word, and naturally, the use of it in relation to a Marvel movie was baffling.

Seeing “Hard R” trend on Twitter is not something a person wakes up expecting to happen. It’d give anyone in the know a brief heart attack. 

This isn’t the first time this has happened, and for those in the Black community, it can start to feel frustrating, and quite frankly disrespectful.

Karan isn’t the only Hollywood actor who has erroneously used the term “hard R” when describing their movie’s MPAA rating. Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney made the same gaffe in April while promoting their romantic comedy Anyone But You. That marks the second time “Hard R” has trended on Twitter in three months. If it wasn’t apparent before, it’s abundantly clear now that Hollywood needs to learn a thing or two about Black history.

Of course, a person can’t be faulted for what they don’t know. Karan’s enthusiasm for Deadpool 3 was not meant to insult any member of a community. If you are someone who didn’t know the meaning of “Hard R” before, then pass your newfound knowledge along to spare the next person the embarrassment of perpetuating a harmful slang word, lest this gaffe becomes a regularly used term in Hollywood’s lexicon.