The rumors were true: A PG-13 cut of Deadpool 2 is returning to theaters for a limited time only this holiday season. It’s called Once Upon a Deadpool, and Fox dropped a brand-new trailer for it on Monday to showcase the film’s best new asset: a pissed-off, kidnapped Fred Savage. Also interesting is that Fox — and Ryan Reynolds — are definitely showing their hand with regards to their motivations for releasing a family-friendly cut of a hard-R film: they really, really want Disney to see that Reynolds can moderate his tone and appeal to audiences of all ages. Just look at that last joke.
Anyways, enough about corporate hellscapes, here’s the trailer:
Here’s a synopsis that’s basically a press release in disguise:
“To kick off the holiday season audiences of almost all ages will soon be able to enjoy the Merc with the Mouth’s reimagining of ‘Deadpool 2’ filtered through the prism of childlike innocence.
‘Fox has been asking for a PG-13 basically since the start in 2006,’ Ryan Reynolds told Deadline. ‘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…’
Fred Savage will join Reynolds in new scenes for ‘Once Upon a Deadpool’ in an homage to Savage’s starring role in the 1987 bedtime-story classic ‘The Princess Bride’. Fred remarked, “while my participation in this film was anything but voluntary, I am happy to learn that Fudge Cancer will be the beneficiary of this shameless cash grab.” For every ticket sold, $1 will go to the charity Fudge Cancer – previously known as Fuck Cancer, who have graciously changed their name to be more PG-13 friendly for the 12 days of ‘Once Upon A Deadpool’’s release.”
Once Upon a Deadpool hits theaters on December 12.
Featured image via Fox.