A promo for Ryan Reynolds’ upcoming movie Free Guy gave us our first taste of Deadpool in the MCU, Simply titled Deadpool and Korg React, this parody of trailer reaction videos saw Reynolds reprise Wade Wilson alongside Taika Waititi’s Korg the Kronan as they commented on the trailer for Free Guy, which they’re both in. Fans went crazy over it and the skit soon went viral.
Seeing as Deadpool and Korg React has gone down so well, then, it’s surprising to discover that it was actually a replacement for a different skit that Reynolds not only pitched to Disney but wrote a whole script for. This short film, intended to be shown in front of Free Guy in cinemas, would’ve seen Deadpool meet the most notorious character in Disney canon, the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother. Unfortunately for Reynolds, the studio vetoed the idea.
Reynolds outlined his idea for this unlikely Deadpool/Bambi crossover while speaking to Collider:
“I initially asked them to do a…actually I wrote it too, a short film that I wanted to put in front of Free Guy of Deadpool interrogating the hunter who killed Bambi’s mom,” Reynolds said. “And, the sort of rug-pull, they said no of course, but the rug-pull of it was that Deadpool really wanted to know the hunter’s secrets on being the most loathed Disney character there is. Deadpool was just a huge fan and wanted to find out how he too could become the most loathed Disney character, but they said no to that.”
While this sounds like a hilarious and authentically Deadpool sketch, it’s not all that surprising that Disney were reluctant to allow Reynolds to poke fun at one of their most sacred animated films. Having said that, Deadpool and Korg React managed to squeeze in a ton of digs at the Disney machine. Including, interestingly, a Bambi reference. Reacting to someone in a rabbit costume in the Free Guy trailer, DP says “Maybe this is the live-action Thumper we all haven’t been waiting for.” That might have been put in by Reynolds as a nod to the short film he wasn’t allowed to make.
So maybe Deadpool won’t be let loose on Disney’s animated classics anytime soon, but he’ll soon be able to skewer the MCU from within once Deadpool 3 — which Reynolds is working on now ahead of its intended production start date of late 2022 — eventually arrives. In the meantime, Free Guy is in theaters now.