Disney To Make Two Different Versions Of Deadpool 3 With Ryan Reynolds?

Apparently, Disney is considering two Deadpool 3 movies with Ryan Reynolds getting both a rated-R and PG-13 version of the film

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Deadpool Ryan Reynolds

Disney might have solved a problem they were having with an upcoming movie. Could they have found a way to handle what may have been some creative differences around language, content, violence, and basically all of the things that come into question when the rating agencies get their hands on a movie? It seems that with Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool 3 the studio might be getting a little creative and it doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world either. According to insider Daniel Richtman, Disney is actively considering putting out two versions of the movie. One would be PG-13 for the more family-friendly crowd and the other would be rated-R for those who’ve enjoyed the, um, tone of previous Deadpool movies. 

Whether this new rumored plan by Disney to create Deadpool films in parallel, separated by their ratings, comes to fruition remains to be seen. But man does it ever make a lot of sense and now that I’ve seen the idea I don’t think I can imagine another path. The Ryan Reynolds character has been known for pushing the boundaries of violence and language in the first two films, creating a decidedly R-rated character out of the comic book pages and bringing him to life on the screen in all his adult glory. 

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Where issues were arising with Ryan Reynolds and Disney was how to take the character moving forward. The two Deadpool films were distributed by 20th Century Fox under the previous deal. The first film in the franchise ended up being the highest-grossing rated-R film at the time and was a massive success for the studio. The sequel wasn’t too far behind. But then Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and Deadpool came along with it. That meant folding the character into the current Marvel Cinematic Universe where the tone and type of film is much, much more family-friendly across the board. 

Apparently, the production for Deadpool 3 has faced some issues, namely Ryan Reynolds and Disney were at odds about how to take this third film in the franchise. Reynolds, of course, wanted to keep the previous no-holds-barred approach which had worked so well. Frankly, dialing back the character at this point would have likely been met with considerable consternation from fans who’d flocked in droves to theaters to see the film. But Disney, with their own brand to uphold, likely didn’t feel comfortable with the amount of R-rated hijinks that the character’s gotten up to along the way. 

Deadpool

Would putting out two different versions of the same movie end up solving these problems? It might and it would be a rather unprecedented move. But if Disney can allow Ryan Reynolds to maintain his vision with the character’s panache for violence and sexual references while also making a film to onboard younger fans the character, then why not do both? They are in the unique position of controlling the production and folding Deadpool into the mix so why not do it in a way that keeps everyone happy? 

So maybe the foul-mouth Merc is going to get a little more dialed back in some versions but ramped up to the graphic hilt in others. Fans would have a hard time complaining about that outcome if they were given a choice of films and parents could even get to see their version with kids getting another. I’m sure we will hear soon if both Disney and Ryan Reynolds are on board, but it makes a lot of sense.