‘Deadpool 2’: Ryan Reynolds Understands Why Fox Made Him Cut Disney Joke

Deadpool 2 star, co-writer and producer Ryan Reynolds is at peace with being forced to axe a Disney-centric joke from the R-rated Marvel-inspired blockbuster.

“I think most filmmakers would say, ‘Find your favorite moment in a movie and cut it out, because that’s what’s going to happen anyway,’” Reynolds told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was one of my favorite things in the movie, and one of the earliest things I planted my flag on and said ‘I want to keep this joke.’ And then it was one of the first things I was forced to remove.”

Reynolds said the removal of the joke came from high up at Fox, which was then in the early stages of a potential purchase by Disney. Because Fox backed the unconventional Deadpool franchise, Reynolds eliminated the still-unidentified joke.

“You like to think that you get to work with complete autonomy, but at the same time, you don’t. You want to be collaborative,” Reynolds said.

“And as much as we laugh at Fox and poke fun at Fox, [vice chairwoman] Emma Watts has been a partner who has been in lockstep with everything we’ve done, every step of the way, all the way back to the first film. They’ve allowed us do stuff that I don’t think any other studio would allow us to do. So, conceding on this one thing was not the end of the world for me. We had a lot of other great, great moments in the movie,” he added.

Reynolds admitted to EW in May the ousted joke was a “sore spot” for him and it being snuffed out “had more to do with Disney,” but ultimately conceded its expulsion “was a wise decision.”

Disney has since won approval to acquire 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion. Once the deal is completed, Disney-owned Marvel Studios is expected to integrate Deadpool and other Fox-controlled properties X-Men and Fantastic Four into the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe, home to the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises.

The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said there is an opportunity for an R-rated Marvel brand, which is likely to retain Reynolds as the not family-friendly merc with a mouth.

“This is completely conjecture on my part, but I wouldn’t imagine that Disney bought Fox to dismantle it or something like that,” Reynolds told EW. “I think that Disney bought Fox so it could have that in its arsenal.”

Deadpool 2 is available to own digitally starting Tuesday ahead of its Aug. 21 debut on 4K UHD and Blu-ray.