Deadpool movies are R-rated when it comes to language and violence, and Deadpool 2 might be even gorier than the original. Director David Leitch said he had no trouble securing an R-rating from the MPAA, and in fact reigned the film in when he was in post.

“There were never any issues and we really did our best to self-censor in a way,” Leitch revealed to us.

“I think we made our choices to be bold where we needed to be bold and be irreverent where we needed to be irreverent. We swung for the fences in other places and in editorial we maybe reigned ourselves in because we didn’t want to subvert a comic moment or an emotional moment. It was a balancing act but the movie led us to a place where it is and we didn’t have any problems with the rating.”

Deadpool 2 has action scenes in which Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) decapitates bad guys and chops off their arms, not to mention all the injuries Deadpool suffers before his regeneration powers kick in. Even though the theatrical cut is his director’s cut, Leitch promises to share the excised gore at some point.

“Yeah, there’s fun stuff,” Leitch said. “I hope we get to share that in an extended cut or deleted scenes.”

“That would be fun to share with the audience but like I said, the movie that’s out there is what the movie needed to be. I think when you go out and direct a movie, you make some bold choices and you experiment in production. You really spread your wings, and then when you get in editorial you start to whittle away at it and carve it and sculpt it and finalize it. We’re really proud of where it stands theatrically but there’s a lot of fun stuff too that we would like to share with the audience that I think they’ll enjoy on the Blu-ray.”

One deleted scene we’re likely to see is an extended version of a fight scene from the film’s opening action montage.

“Look, there’s a single shot in the bathhouse fight with the yakuza that’s part of the opening montage that was a seamless 360 shot that’s really fun,” Leitch said. “It’s sword fighting in a bathhouse full of yakuza that I think at some point we’ll share with the audience in someway. If not on the Blu-ray, somewhere else.”

Leitch already choreographs R-rated action in movies like John Wick and Atomic Blonde. A superhero who literally chops people up did open up some new creative opportunities.

“I’ll say it is really fun and liberating,” Leitch said. “I know people have concerns about the level of violence, but in a rated R comic book film, it does allow your choreography to run wild. It’s sort of fun to be the 13-year-old boy with swords and do a crazy fight scene in a bathhouse full of yakuza. What other movie would I get to do that in?”

Deadpool 2 also features several fight scenes in which Wade Wilson kicks ass without wearing the red suit.

“I just didn’t want the red suit to drive the action,” Leitch said.

“Basically, it was either me or the story. Deadpool isn’t always in his suit and there are moments in this film where we really needed him to do it out of it.”

Outside of his suit, Wade is already covered with prosthetic makeup, which means Reynolds can be doubled by stuntmen in the same makeup. However, Reynolds does as much as Leitch will let him.

“Look, we can use all the movie magic tricks known to man,” Leitch said. “Coming from a stunt background, I do like to use stunt performers if I can in certain sequences. I’ll say this, Ryan is always game to get in there and do his fighting stuff. He’s really good at it. He’s been doing action movies for a long time. It’s good to have a great stunt double but it’s also good to have an actor who’s willing and that’s when you get the best combination of spectacle on the screen.”

Deadpool 2 opens May 18.