Disney CEO Asked Ryan Reynolds to Cut One Line From Deadpool & Wolverine

Despite being a Marvel Studios production, Deadpool & Wolverine does not hold back on the franchise’s trademark raunchiness. Well, except for one very specific line, which series star Ryan Reynolds and co. had to remove at the behest of their new bosses at Disney. The box office smash hit follows Deadpool as he embarks on a multiversal journey alongside a Wolverine variant (Hugh Jackman) to save his Fox-Marvel universe. The R-rated adventure is appropriately littered with filthy jokes like previous films, pushing the boundaries of the Disney-owned MCU like no other.

While attending the Fast Company Innovation Festival (via Deadline), Ryan Reynolds discussed the high-stakes journey of making the third Deadpool film. A part of the creative process, like most studio films, was hearing and acting on notes from the higher-ups. In this case, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Marvel president Kevin Feige did not interfere too much. However, there was one line of dialogue so bad that Disney asked to remove it, instead approving a very dirty joke about Pinocchio. Reynolds makes it clear that removing the undisclosed line from the film was for the better, even if it went against his own creative programming:

“As soon as somebody says something, like, ‘Ryan, Bob Iger here. Would love it if you’d take that one line out. It’s really going to make our life hard over here.’ As soon as they say that, there’s just something in my brain that goes, ‘Must keep line! Precious!’ And then as soon as the fog of war lifts and you have a second thought, it’s like, ‘Of course I can take that out. Can I say something about Pinocchio instead? And the answer is yes!”

The Deadpool & Wolverine Line That Made It Is Still Insane

Yes, fans will probably never hear about the original line cut from Deadpool & Wolverine, but the dialogue that replaced it is still pretty insane, especially for a Disney movie. At one point in the film, Deadpool ridiculously remarks, “It’s like Pinocchio jammed his face in my ass and started lying like crazy!” If that was the replacement, one could only imagine the original one. The film’s director, Shawn Levy, previously told Entertainment Weekly about the proposed line that did not make the final cut. Not only did he make a promise with Reynolds to never divulge exactly what it was, but he says the Pinocchio line was “equally dirty.”

“We have made a pact, Ryan and I, to go to our grave with that line, but I will say that it was replaced with an equally dirty line of dialogue about Pinocchio shoving his face up Deadpool’s ass and starting to lie like crazy.”

Reynolds criticized his initial unwillingness to hear out studio notes that removed parts of the script, but it’s quite clear a lot of creative freedom was afforded anyway. In many ways, Deadpool & Wolverine, as the film itself confidently claims, has reinvigorated a cinematic universe that was seeing signs of wear. After Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania disappointed fans (and Disney accountants), the latest MCU phase was at a critical turning point. The Deadpool sequel has not only filled their pockets but got audiences invested in the future of the franchise, at least for now. With Hugh Jackson reportedly playing Wolverine for the foreseeable future, Deadpool & Wolverine has made its irreplaceable mark.