Ryan Reynolds Reveals The Two Rules Disney Had for Deadpool & Wolverine

Ryan Reynolds has recently offered fans a tantalizing peek behind the Disney curtain, detailing specific creative lines that were drawn during the making of last summer’s colossal hit, Deadpool & Wolverine. The film, which saw the Merc with a Mouth  (Reynolds) officially crash into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was a record-shattering success as Marvel Studios’ first R-rated story. However, as Reynolds detailed on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, Disney CEO Bob Iger was personally involved with the movie, defining the two rules not even Deadpool could break. That included the removal of the now legendary Mickey Mouse risqué joke.

“The first time he [Bob Iger] saw the film, it was in pretty good shape,” Reynolds explained. “And he said, ‘you got to remove the one line, right?’ And I was like, ‘What line?’ ‘You know the line.’ And I went, ‘Mickey Mouse?’ He was like, ‘yeah.’ I was like, ‘But Bob, the whole movie orbits around that line.’ Like that line is the film, it’s the thrust, the thesis, it’s everything. And it’s because my brain, when he says ‘the one line’, is like, ‘precious, must keep the line.’ And so I really had to kind of walk around his office a little bit, do a couple of laps, and then it was fine. We were good. We switched it up. And he was just, he just didn’t want the Mickey Mouse joke in.” The specific Mickey Mouse line, which has since been revealed through the film’s “For Your Consideration” script, involved Deadpool exclaiming, “F–k! What, we can’t even afford one more X-Man? Disney is so cheap. I can barely breathe with all this Mickey Mouse c–k in my throat,” after learning Magneto wouldn’t be cameoing.

[RELATED: Marvel Trying to Get Out of Deadpool Lawsuit to Avoid MCU Spoilers]

“I remember trying to get my Deadpool and Wolverine movie made, and I just focused on that,” Reynolds continued. “I was like, ‘I will return your investment. I got you. I am not a reckless pilot. I will land the f**king plane on a dime. It will be a four-quadrant R-rated film. I’m going to make Disney’s first four-quadrant R-rated film.’ This is after they said no to 18 different things, including a movie where Deadpool is after the hunter who killed Bambi’s mom. They said, ‘We don’t touch Bambi.’ And I said, ‘You said you don’t touch Mickey Mouse.’ ‘We don’t touch Bambi and we don’t touch Mickey Mouse.’” 

How Deadpool & Wolverine Became an R-Rated Juggernaut

Despite the (understandable) removal of that particular Mickey Mouse gag and the hands-off policy regarding Bambi, Deadpool & Wolverine was anything but creatively neutered. It roared into theaters, smashing records with a domestic opening weekend of $211 million and ultimately grossing over $1.338 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film ever. This staggering financial success was accompanied by a generally positive critical reception and an “A” CinemaScore, further underscoring its crowd-pleasing nature.

While a Deadpool & Wolverine 2 or a standalone Deadpool 4 hasn’t been officially dated, the future for these characters in the MCU is undoubtedly bright. Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President, previously stated that “The plans with Deadpool and Wolverine will always be the same: we’re always wondering where we can fit them in, and how fast.” More concretely, Reynolds himself confirmed that he is actively developing a new project for the Merc with a Mouth. “I’m writing something right now… It’s a little ensemble, but I like that he’s isolated,” Reynolds revealed, reiterating his belief that Deadpool shouldn’t become a card-carrying Avenger or X-Man. “If he becomes an Avenger or an X-Man, we’re at the end. That’s his wish fulfillment, and you can’t give him that.”

Deadpool & Wolverine began streaming on Disney+ on November 12, 2024, and is also available on digital platforms, ensuring its record-breaking run continues to reach a wide audience.

Now that you know the kind of Mickey Mouse joke that was off-limits, what’s the most outrageous Disney-related joke you wish Deadpool could have gotten away with? Sound off in the comments!