"That's just the dumbest thing ever": Ryan Reynolds reveals the original (rejected) Deadpool 2 pitch – and it is *weird*

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What does The Voice have to do with Deadpool?

Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson holding a blade in Deadpool 2

Oh, Ryan Reynolds. Fresh off the original Deadpool making a billion bucks, he was chucking ideas at the wall to see what might stick for a sequel. Case in point: his original Deadpool 2 pitch involved a heist (so far, so normal)… for the big, red chair from reality TV show The Voice. As you can imagine, it was quickly rejected.

Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, Reynolds revealed one of the very first ideas he had pitched to Fox. Words can’t quite do it justice.

“At the time – my first pitch to the studio was not met very well,” the Deadpool star told Fallon. “I pitched them for [Deadpool 2]… the whole story of the movie would be Deadpool trying to steal the big, red chair from The Voice. And they were like: ‘That’s just the dumbest thing ever.’”

Ouch. And I thought my first pitches were rough. But only Ryan Reynolds could get away with pinning the hopes of a billion-dollar franchise on a joke about a piece of furniture on a TV show. 

The chair in question – yes, it spins – is sat on by the judges before pressing their buzzer and turning around to see the singer in action. It’s just silly enough to have worked – but I’m glad they went a different route. That joke would’ve fallen flat after a couple of rewatches.

Reynolds also opened up on that cheeky Brad Pitt cameo. Spoiler: he’s in it for a split-second as The Vanisher and, as Reynolds explains it was a hard sell: “He doesn’t speak and he’s invisible. And [Fox] are like, ‘Why Brad Pitt?’ Oh, because you see him, you know, for a quarter of a second… then he unfortunately dies by electrocution.” That’s showbusiness, for you. One day you’re Brad Pitt, megastar and, the next, you’re Brad Pitt, cameo death punchline.

But back to the chair. If something like that is still spinning around in Reynolds’ mind then it’s possible that Deadpool 3 could yet involve a heist of some kind. Maybe X-Force are back – now that the Deadpool 2 post-credits are out of the way – and ready to pull off a big score? For the love of God, just keep The Voice away from it.

That's not everything that didn't make the cut. You can now watch the canned Deadpool 2 post-credits scene starring Baby Hitler.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.