And then Deadpool did what Deadpool does best, and made a joke out of the entire situation.
Just for the sake of continuity, however, here’s what Reynolds had to say about the April 1 report (which should’ve been a red flag) on JoBlo.com confirming the film’s PG-13 rating:
#deadpool – So we make the blood green. (Views expressed here are mine – not necessarily those of adorable, taint-punchers releasing films)
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) April 1, 2015
A PG-13 #deadpool will still have 4th wall breaking, a shit-ton of action and at least 3 chimichangas. Zero need to panic. I promise.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) April 1, 2015
These tweets — and the resulting outcry — were followed by the release of a video (embedded above) purporting to be an interview with Reynolds from the set of Deadpool, conducted by Extra host (and former Saved by the Bell star) Mario Lopez, in which Reynolds addresses the PG-13 rating controversy. What starts as an innocuous celebrity interview, however, takes a weird turn around the 1:00 mark when Deadpool himself is glimpsed walking behind Lopez. Deadpool then returns with a studio light, bashes Lopez over the head with it, and offers up a call-out to the ’90s high-school sitcom that featured Lopez as A.C. Slater and Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano.
“Fuck you, Slater,” says Deadpool while standing over Lopez’s body. “It’s okay, Jessie. Slater can’t hurt you anymore.”
The entire PG-13 rating “news” is then revealed to be an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank as Reynolds/Deadpool announces that “Deadpool will, of course, be rated ‘R.'”
While it’s certainly a complicated way to announce a movie’s rating, you have to hand it to Reynolds and the Deadpool team for managing to combine an April Fools’ Day prank with some legitimate news while also giving some significant, visible assurance that the filmmakers understand why the character is so beloved by his fans.
Directed by Tim Miller and based on a script from Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, Deadpool follows former Special Forces operative Wade Wilson, who becomes a mercenary after a secret government experiment gives him a superhuman healing ability (along with some unintended side-effects). Reynolds plays the film’s titular antihero, and he’s joined in the cast by actor/comedian T.J. Miller as Weasel, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Morena Baccarin as Copycat. Ed Skrein is also cast in an unidentified role.
Deadpool is currently scheduled to hit theaters February 12, 2016.
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