When it was announced that Deadpool, the distinctly R-rated Merc with a Mouth, was getting a PG-13 cut of Deadpool 2, the collective sentiment was 'Huh?' We had questions, and in the latest bit of marketing for the film, a captive Fred Savage tries to get answers. Take a look at the video below to see Fred Savage, hilariously interrogating Wade Wilson.
We won't know until December 12 how well Deadpool 2 works as a PG-13 film, but the marketing for Once Upon a Deadpool is just as hilarious and brilliant as anything else we've seen from this franchise. The Fred Savage/Deadpool dynamic is very funny, as here we see the Wonder Years star asking the foul-mouthed Merc the questions that need asking, both about himself and about Once Upon a Deadpool.
Deadpool's responses to Fred Savage's personal questions are great and totally self-deprecatory as we've come to expect from the character. Fred Savage really gets to the heart of the matter though with Once Upon a Deadpool, asking Wade the question we all want to know 'Why PG-13?'
Wade's response about money and Disney are great because they're exactly the motivations many suspected when we first heard about Once Upon a Deadpool, making them totally on brand for the meta character. I also would not be surprised to hear more Disney jokes in the film itself, given the fact that it's all but certain that the Merc with a Mouth and Mickey Mouse will soon be sharing an office.
Deadpool's answer about money being the motivation for the PG-13 Once Upon a Deadpool is funny because we all know it's true, but it doesn't quite tell the whole story. Being that this is a "family movie" and it's the holidays, Once Upon a Deadpool isn't just a pure cash grab. That's because for every ticket sold, $1 goes to the charity Fuck Cancer, which has changed its name to Fudge Cancer, in keeping with the PG-13-ness of Once Upon a Deadpool.
Wade Wilson/Ryan Reynolds (the line between them is quite blurred) says that he is a fan of The Princess Bride, but as you can see from Ryan Reynold's tweet, he's also a fan of another '80s classic kids movie: Uncle Buck.
In that film, Macaulay Culkin's Miles interrogates his Uncle Buck, played by the late, great John Candy, upon first meeting him, much as Fred Savage does to Deadpool here. And Miles was also very curious about his Uncle's living arrangements in his line of consecutive questions.
So this video for Once Upon a Deadpool, has Fred Savage, in the bedroom from A Princess Bride, paying homage to Uncle Buck, while questioning Deadpool. That's nostalgia, wrapped in meta nostalgia, wrapped in a superhero sequel. Ladies and gentlemen, that is a nesting doll of holiday goodness.
As to whether or not audiences will, as Fred Savage queries, 'be stupid enough to swallow this,' we'll find out when Once Upon a Deadpool opens on December 12. Hop aboard the hype train for next year's biggest movies by checking out our 2019 release schedule, and for all the latest movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
