There is arguably no hero with more self-awareness than Wade Wilson. Ryan Reynolds' smartass anti-hero cracks jokes about anything and anyone, and it looks like the same sense of humor that made the original Deadpool a hit back in 2016 will once again help sell Deadpool 2 to audiences. However, evidently not every joke made it into Deadpool 2's final cut, as one specific Disney gag was taken out at the behest of the folks at 20th Century Fox. Reynolds explained:
This is a sore spot for me because there's a joke in the movie that is not in the movie now because --- I'm probably not even allowed to say this --- Fox made me take it out. It had more to do with Disney, and they made me take it out. As I look back at it, I think maybe that was a wise decision.
So there you have it. We don't exactly know what the joke would've been, but it sounds like the folks at Fox may have flexed some muscle to get a Disney-themed joke dropped from Deadpool 2. Ryan Reynolds wouldn't go into much detail about the shift (in fact, he thinks he could get in trouble for just admitting that it happened), but it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume that it might have something to do with the landmark business deal that saw Disney purchase 21st Century Fox for $52 billion last year. The deal hasn't officially gone through yet, which means Disney doesn't have official control over the Deadpool franchise, but the wheels have started turning.
Obviously we will have to wait and see what jokes ended up staying in the final cut of the movie. The most recent trailer for Deadpool 2 poked fun at Avengers: Infinity War by referring to Josh Brolin's Cable as "Thanos," so the cat is kind of out of the bag on that one. It's unclear if that gag was merely meant to be used in the trailer or if it's actually part of the final cut of the movie, but it is apparent that the step closer to the Disney brand may have had (at least some) influence over the final Deadpool 2 product. That said, Ryan Reynolds does seem to stand by the decision that it was the better move in the long run anyway.
Regardless of the fact that Ryan Reynolds and the folks behind Deadpool 2 had to cut a notable Disney joke, that doesn't change the act that there are still some minor jabs at the Mouse House in the film. Specifically, the actor made sure to note in his interview with EW that there is a recurring joke about Frozen somewhere in the R-rated sequel. We don't know the exact nature of the gag, but at least now we're aware we should keep an eye out for some type of reference to the 2013 classic.
With all of that in mind, Deadpool 2 will debut on the big screen later this month on May 18. Make sure to check out the hard-R X-Men franchise spinoff when it finally premieres, and head over to our 2018 movie premiere guide to get more information on all of the other major debuts headed to theaters this year!
