Relax, Ryan Reynolds Didn’t Steal The Idea For ‘Once Upon A Deadpool’ From A Fan

Even with the recent Thanksgiving holiday, I’m sure you heard the news — Ryan Reynolds completely stole the idea of “Once Upon a Deadpool” from a poor fan that isn’t getting any of the credit. Well, that’s what you’d think reading some of the headlines. But as it turns out, it’s a classic case of a good ol’ fashioned coincidence.

READ MORE: ‘Once Upon A Deadpool’ Trailer: “It’s Like If The Beatles Were Produced By Nickelback”

The controversy started a few days ago when an artist named Michael Vincent Bramley on Twitter posted an interesting message after he saw the recent trailer for the PG-13 “Once Upon a Deadpool.” He said, “Sooo… I tweeted the exact plot of the new ‘Once Upon A Deadpool’ PG version of #Deadpool2 at Ryan Reynolds almost a year ago and it somehow wound up in a movie without me knowing.”

Attached to the tweet are screenshots from a Facebook post and the original tweet where, sure enough, Bramley posted what appears to be a plot synopsis for the film. He suggested that Fox could utilize a PG-13 ‘Deadpool’ film as a meta-commentary on PG-13 films. Bramley even suggested that they use a framing device with Fred Savage as a ‘Princess Bride’ homage.

READ MORE: ‘Once Upon A Deadpool’: ‘Deadpool 2’ PG-13 Cut Details Emerge As Ryan Reynolds Talks The Film’s Charitable Angle

As you might expect, considering this is the Internet and all, fans and those pesky film “pundits” ran with the idea of Fox and Ryan Reynolds using this fan’s ideas without proper credit.

Some headlines read (these are indeed real):

“Was Once Upon a Deadpool Idea Ripped Off from a Fan?”

“Did ‘Once Upon A Deadpool’ steal its idea from a fan on Twitter?”

“Did Fox and Marvel Steal the ‘Once Upon a Deadpool’ Idea From a Fan?”

You get the idea.

So, speculation went on for a day or so before Bramley hit Twitter once again to put the whole ordeal to rest (hopefully). He tweeted, “[Ryan Reynolds] and I had a brief talk and I believe he was as confused as I was. It seems like this may all just have been a big, insane coincidence and I’m happy to leave it at that. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie in December!”

Therefore, it’s safe to say that no, Fox, Marvel, or Ryan Reynolds stole the idea for the film from a fan on Twitter. It stands to reason that if a guy on Twitter had the idea a year ago, then perhaps so did a number of other people at the studio, including Reynolds himself.

But hey, it’s 2018 and social media does what social media does. And as with most of those little online conspiracy theories, this one is a whole lot of nothing.

“Once Upon a Deadpool” hits theaters on December 12.

Sooo… I tweeted the exact plot of the new 'Once Upon A Deadpool' PG version of #Deadpool2 at Ryan Reynolds almost a year ago and it somehow wound up in a movie without me knowing. #deadpool #ryanreynolds #xmen #movies #OnceUponADeadpool #fredsavage #marvelmovies #mcu pic.twitter.com/tTMHwh2A1a

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) November 21, 2018

.@VancityReynolds and I had a brief talk and I believe he was as confused as I was. It seems like this may all just have been a big, insane coincidence and I'm happy to leave it at that. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie in December! #deadpool #onceuponadeadpool

— M.V.B. (@MVBramley) November 22, 2018