Did Fox and Marvel Steal the 'Once Upon a Deadpool' Idea From a Fan?

A fan tweeted the film's plot at Ryan Reynolds last year.

Ryan Reynolds
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Image via Getty/Steve Granitz

Ryan Reynolds

Deadpool 2 is getting a PG-13 rated re-cut just in time for the holidays on Dec. 12, with Once Upon a Deadpool retooling the film so that it no longer has an R rating. The framing device for the new cut is a little ridiculous, parodying the 1987 film The Princess Bride, in which child actor Fred Savage is told a story by his grandfather with portions deemed too scary cut out. Once Upon a Deadpool sees Deadpool kidnapping an adult version of Savage, hoping to reenact the film, but it turns out a fan may have came up with this idea around a year ago.

@VancityReynolds If Marvel forces you to make a PG-13 Deadpool, just copy the framing device from The Princess Bride and have Deadpool censoring it for Fred Savage as a bedtime story. A kidnapped adult Fred Savage. There, I fixed it.

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) December 7, 2017

Writer and artist Michael Vincent Bramley tweeted his idea at Ryan Reynolds last year when the idea for a PG-13 Deadpool movie first started circulating online, and it's almost identical to what became of Once Upon a Deadpool. Understandably, Bramley was pretty freaked out about the whole thing.

Sooo... I tweeted the exact plot of the new 'Once Upon A Deadpool' PG version of #Deadpool2 at Ryan Reynolds almost a year ago and it somehow wound up in a movie without me knowing. #deadpool #ryanreynolds #xmen #movies #OnceUponADeadpool #fredsavage #marvelmovies #mcu pic.twitter.com/tTMHwh2A1a

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) November 21, 2018

I mean... maybe @VancityReynolds had the idea first, but it's fucking eerie how I didn't get a single detail wrong in my summary. Plagiarism? I hope not. I fuckin' love Ryan Reynolds. Cryptomnesia maybe? Can I at least get some premiere tickets please? #deadpool #detectivepikachu

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) November 21, 2018

Confused by the ordeal, he made it clear that he doesn't have any plans to sue anyone involved with the film.

Just a friendly reminder that I have no (never had any) intention of trying to sue Ryan Reynolds, Disney or any of its subsidiaries. I'm also not angry, I'm more amused/confused at this point. #deadpool #marvel #Disney #ryanreynolds #stopgivingmelegaladvice

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) November 22, 2018

Following his realization of the situation and his subsequent tweets about it, he says that Ryan Reynolds reached out to him to talk about it. "It seems like this may all just have been a big insane coincidence," he tweeted.

.@VancityReynolds and I had a brief talk and I believe he was as confused as I was. It seems like this may all just have been a big, insane coincidence and I'm happy to leave it at that. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie in December! #deadpool #onceuponadeadpool

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) November 22, 2018

Reynolds previously said that Fox had been pushing for a PG-13 Deadpool for more than a decade. He finally gave in under two conditions. "First, a portion of the proceeds had to go to charity. Second, I wanted to kidnap Fred Savage. The second condition took some explaining." Reynolds pitched the idea for the framing device earlier this year, and when Fox agreed to his conditions they committed to donating $1 of every ticket sale of the upcoming re-cut to charity.

"We were kicking around some ideas and then I think it was Ryan [Reynolds] who had the great framing device and we all got excited and went to the studio," writer Paul Wernick revealed last month. "They said, 'Yeah, let's do it. Fire up the cameras.' About two months ago we were out on sound stages shooting again. Ryan was in the suit and the gang was back together, Dave Leitch and Ryan and us having a great time and laughing. It comes together great so we're super excited about it."

Deadpool 2 was originally released back in August, but the PG-13 cut of the film, which features a bunch of new footage, will hit theaters on Dec. 12.

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