Comics
[Interview] Director David Leitch Talks ‘Deadpool 2’ Gore and Deleted/Extended Scenes
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.
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
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