What’s better to find under your Christmas tree than a man with great legs wearing red spandex? Nothing. The answer is nothing. 20th Century Fox and Ryan Reynolds‘ Maximum Effort hope you’ll agree, as they are seemingly planning a stealth Christmas release of some variation of Deadpool. Hopefully the one they settle on contains all limbs, intact and fully-developed. 20th Century Fox reportedly shifted Alita: Battle Angel from 12/21/2018 to 2/14/2019, thus bumping Dark Phoenix from 2/14/2019 to 6/7/2019 in an effort to make room on the schedule for a PG-13-rated Deadpool flick with a Christmas theme.
How did they secretly film a Christmas-themed Deadpool movie? Well, I’m glad you asked, Fred Savage, because I have a story to tell you.
Thoughts? ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/fFe93tDI7e
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) September 28, 2018
Fox initially announced Deadpool 2′s return to theaters in a more family-friendly PG-13 version this Holiday season, but the precise nature of the film remains unclear at the moment. Based on the above photo from tweet-meister Ryan Reynolds, it appears that the film will take a cue from The Princess Bride, featuring the adult version of Fred Savage (presumably aged using advanced CGI techniques) being read a PG-13-ish bedtime story version of Deadpool’s exploits. Whether this story includes elements from Deadpool and Deadpool 2 or merely repackages part 2 in a less violent, less obscene, more amusing way is up for speculation. I imagine it will be akin to Nintendo asking the developers of Mortal Kombat on the Super Nintendo to turn blood into sweat and make the fatalities more family-friendly.
Details beyond the picture shared on Reynold’s Twitter account remain scarce. Reports indicate that the title is The Deadpool Before Christmas, although exactly how far they’ll go with the Christmas theme is anyone’s guess. 20th Century Fox is trying to keep things a secret at the moment, wishing to give Deadpool fans a super-secret surprise present to open up around the holidays. Hopefully they at least give Mr. Pool a CGI Santa hat for the whole movie.
A Very Merry Deadpool Christmas, or The Deadpool Before Christmas, arrives in theaters to fuel your kids’ nightmares on December 21, 2018.