Ryan Reynolds on Why PG-13 Deadpool Was Never the Plan: “Gun to My Head…”
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
When Ryan Reynolds first stepped into the role of Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), fans could hardly have predicted the cultural juggernaut Deadpool would become. After an eight-year wait, Reynolds returned in the 2016 solo film Deadpool, reinventing the character with razor-sharp wit, fourth-wall-breaking humor, and unapologetically R-rated chaos. Now, as anticipation builds for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), Reynolds is opening up about how close the franchise came to a softer rating—and why that would have been a very different story.
Would PG-13 Have Worked?
In an interview with the LA Times, Reynolds was asked whether a studio-mandated PG-13 rating would have been a deal-breaker. His answer was candid:
“Nobody wanted to do a PG-13 Deadpool. Gun to my head, would I have done a PG-13 movie? I don’t know. It would depend on what it looked like. If we could have done it justice and serve the character the way it needed to be served, sure. But my hope was always to have the R rating just to have the ability to really stretch our legs and explore this character in a different way than most of these superhero tentpole movies explore it.”
Reynolds’ point was clear: Deadpool’s edge, irreverence, and unpredictability depend on pushing boundaries. A PG-13 label could have blunted the franchise’s satirical bite, stripping away what made it so distinct in the crowded superhero genre.
The 2014 Leak That Changed Everything
The journey to Deadpool’s solo film almost ended before it began. In 2014, test footage “mysteriously” leaked online, showing Reynolds’ wise-cracking antihero in a stylized, hyper-violent sequence. Fans exploded with enthusiasm, essentially forcing Fox’s hand.
Reynolds now reflects on that moment as nothing short of a turning point:
“That [test footage] was just meant to establish how the world would operate. It was really meant for internal use only. It was never meant to be shown to the public in any way. But the fan reaction so overwhelmed Fox much that they really saw that there was a huge appetite for Deadpool – and that’s what gave us the green light. I think that’s exclusively the reason the movie got made.”
What began as a leak has since become a legend—a fan-driven campaign that proved Deadpool had an audience hungry for something riskier than traditional Marvel fare.
Breaking New Ground With Marvel
Now under the Marvel Studios banner, Deadpool & Wolverine is set to be the company’s first R-rated superhero film. That’s no small milestone for a studio famous for family-friendly blockbusters. Directed by Shawn Levy, the film not only reunites Reynolds with his longtime collaborator but also brings Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine after a seven-year absence. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on July 26, 2024, and the buzz is already massive.
Reynolds: More Than Just the Star
Reynolds’ fingerprints are all over the Deadpool franchise—not just as its star, but as a creative force shaping its identity. Industry insiders say he’s been deeply involved in every stage of Deadpool & Wolverine: script revisions, marketing strategy, and even viral promotional campaigns alongside Jackman. His partnership with Levy, forged over multiple projects (Free Guy, The Adam Project), has added an extra layer of trust and collaboration, helping balance fan expectations with Marvel’s blockbuster machinery.
A Legacy Defined by Risk
From a near-forgotten cameo in X-Men Origins to Marvel’s first R-rated film, Deadpool’s path has mirrored Reynolds’ own persistence. The question of whether the character could have survived as PG-13 may never need an answer—because fans rallied, Reynolds fought, and the R-rated Deadpool became not just a reality but a genre-redefining phenomenon.
As Reynolds himself might put it, Deadpool works best when nobody plays it safe.
Would you like me to shape this more as a fan-focused feature with pop-culture flair (like Entertainment Weekly) or as a hard-hitting industry piece (like The Hollywood Reporter)?
