The idea of a PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 was already crazy, but the first poster is even crazier. The more "family-friendly" version of Deadpool 2 will be out this holiday season and the first poster for the movie, officially titled Once Upon a Deadpool, is going all in by including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so you know it's a Christmas movie, and Fred Savage in a Chicago Bears jersey, because nothing says family movie like The Princess Bride . Check it out.
An early publicity image sent out by Ryan Reynolds showed Deadpool sitting in a chair reading a story to Fred Savage, who played the sick kid being told a story in the classic The Princess Bride. The poster shows that will likely be more than a one-note joke, as Fred Savage join Deadpool astride Rudolph for the poster. The movie may be eliminating all of Deadpool's naughty language, but it certainly isn't going to be any less hilarious based on this poster.
The tagline that joins the poster on the official Twitter account says there will be zero F's given, a reference to fact that one of the major changes that Deadpool 2 will need to make is eliminating all F-bombs. Ryan Reynolds shared the poster on his own Twitter account saying, "The only F word in this movie is Fred Aaron Savage." I can't help but think that this won't be entirely accurate. Traditionally, the MPAA will allow one, non-sexual, F-word in a PG-13 film and it seems to be that's just the sort of thing that Once Upon a Deadpool would take advantage of, and make a point of mentioning they're going to use it at an opportune moment.
The fact that Once Upon a Deadpool is going so all-in on the Princess Bride joke that it will use a, now very much adult, Fred Savage, as the "kid" being told a story is hilarious. You know if Peter Falk were still around he'd be part of this too. A lot of us who grew up watching The Princess Bride are now the adults enjoying Deadpool movies, and bringing the two together is strangely perfect.
Since the framing device for this PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 will parody The Princess Bride, that means that we're not simply getting a toned down version of the movie. The film will clearly include some new scenes of the story being read just as The Princess Bride did, along with some all-new narration. Fans of the Deadpool movies will certainly want to check out this new version just to see the new material. Just because the merc is going to watch his mouth doesn't mean he won't still be hilarious.
As the poster announces, December 12 will be the day that Once Upon a Deadpool arrives in theaters. It will be interesting to see if this film does box office on par with a new release or a re-release, it's sort of both things, making this a somewhat untested idea, though it's probably one other movies will consider if it works.
