For many fans, the idea of a PG-13 Deadpool movie sounds downright self-contradictory, but that’s just what Fox is trying with Once Upon a Deadpool, a family-friendly re-release of Deadpool 2 that takes out most of the violence and swearing, but adds in a fair amount of new footage. Speaking of which, this new cut has found an interesting means of self-censorship, framing its action as a bedtime story in a parody of The Princess Bride. The film even features a kidnapped Fred Savage, who’s seen in the recent trailer lying in bed and belittling Fox’s Marvel output.
It’s an idea that allows for PG-13 viewing while staying true to the irreverent spirit of the series, or at least that’s what writer and artist Michael Vincent Bramley was likely thinking when he came up with it back in December last year, tweeting this suggestion several months before the regular R-rated Deadpool 2 had hit theaters:
“If Marvel forces you to make a PG-13 Deadpool, just copy the framing device from The Princess Bride and have Deadpool censoring it for Fred Savage as a bedtime story. A kidnapped adult Fred Savage. There, I fixed it.”
Seeing how Bramley even tagged the film’s co-writer Ryan Reynolds in the tweet, many us felt that this year-old message was simply too close to the real thing to be mere coincidence, and yet, in a more recent tweet, Bramley is suggesting just that:
“[Ryan Reynolds] and I had a brief talk and I believe he was as confused as I was. It seems like this may all just have been a big, insane coincidence and I’m happy to leave it at that. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie in December!”
Based on the replies that this update is getting, it’s clear that not everyone is buying this explanation, and honestly, with co-writer Paul Wernick previously crediting Reynolds for the idea, part of you has to wonder if the actor read Bramley’s idea and forgot about it, only for the suggestion to resurface in his mind months later.
Nonetheless, Bramley himself says he’s happy to let this go, and so we probably won’t be seeing his name in the credits when Once Upon a Deadpool hits theaters on December 12th.
