Once Upon a Deadpool trailer recruits Fred Savage for riff on The Princess Bride

After leading two violent, R-rated movies that have expanded the possibilities of cinematic superhero fare, Deadpool is ready for a new adventure in PG-13. The new trailer for Once Upon a Deadpool demonstrates the Ryan Reynolds character's strategy for achieving that softer rating — namely, kidnapping Fred Savage.

"You're in a PG-13 version of Deadpool, filtered through the prism of childlike innocence," Deadpool tells his new costar. "No one does childlike innocence better than you, Fred. Nobody."

Despite the fact that Savage is an adult now, Reynolds' Merc with the Mouth has forced him into bed to recreate the framing device of The Princess Bride, in which a much younger Savage played the sick kid being read the titlular story.

The PG-13 rating for Once Upon a Deadpool — a revamp of this year's Deadpool 2 — means much of the character's trademark vulgarity is out of bounds ("The only F word in this movie is Fred Aaron Savage," Reynolds tweeted when he debuted the film's poster) but the meta-commentary on superhero stories has survived the transition, as seen when Savage says he prefers Marvel Cinematic Universe fare to the Deadpool universe.

"We are Marvel!" Deadpool protests.

"Yeah but you're Marvel licensed by Fox," Savage replies. "It's like if the Beatles were produced by Nickelback. It's music, but it sucks."

Once Upon a Deadpool hits theaters Dec. 12. Watch the trailer above.

Related content:

• The Princess Bride: An oral history
• William Goldman, beloved screenwriter of The Princess Bride, dies at 87