When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and obtained the film rights to third party franchises such as X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool, many wondered what would happen to the Merc with a Mouth. We knew there would be a third movie, but it was unclear how much freedom Disney would give to Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, and the rest of the writers.
Turns out, Disney was pretty lenient. Not only was Deadpool & Wolverine allowed to move forward as a R-rated film, but Disney also gave them the freedom to incorporate previous characters from Fox's superhero graveyard.
Deadpool & Wolverine was rated R for "Strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore, and sexual references." For a Deadpool, that's par for the course. But for Disney, it's practically unheard of.
There was no shortage of hilarious, shockingly funny moments. And I was surprised at just how raunchy the jokes in the movie were.
As it so happens though, there was one joke in particular that Disney asked Ryan Reynolds to remove from the script. Back in August, Reynolds revealed he was asked to take out one particular joke, but he refused to disclose the line at the time.
However, pages from the movie's script have since been shared online and we now know what the original joke was. I don't want to post it here because we're a family-friendly network, but you can read it here.
Reading over the line, it's no surprise that Disney wanted Reynolds to remove it. For as many times as Reynolds dunked on Disney and Marvel in the film, I feel like the mention of Mickey Mouse's privates is a bit too much. Some things should just remain off topic, and this is definitely one of them.
Reynolds revealed that the Pinocchio was used as a replacement instead, and I think that's actually a bit funnier given the expanding and retracting nose bit.
Deadpool & Wolverine proved to be a smash hit at the box office, grossing $1.34 billion worldwide. Given that success, I'm sure Disney is happy to have given Reynolds and company the freedom to push ratings boundaries, even if one joke had to be cut. Deadpool & Wolverine is now streaming on Disney+.