X-Men Origins: Wolverine, another actor would be cast and he’d lose out on the role in a solo movie.

While his brief turn as Wade was considered a highpoint, Origins take on this footage leaked online and quickly went viral, and the new istration at Fox quickly greenlit a Deadpool movie. Thanks to a great marketing campaign and a gleefully R-rated tone, the movie became the highest-grossing X-Men movie, reaching over $783M worldwide.

Related: Deadpool 2 PG-13 Releasing In China After First Film Was Banned

China is a very healthy source of income for comic book movies, but the R-rated cuts of both Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were banned there. In December a PG-13 cut of the sequel dubbed Once Upon A Deadpool was released that added a new framing device, with Deadpool kidnapping actor Fred Savage so he can read the film's story to him, Princess Bride-style. The critical reception to this version was mixed, but THR is reporting the gambit has paid off in China. The PG-13 cut – dubbed Deadpool 2: I Love My Family in China – has taken in over $45M there, pushing the worldwide gross to $784M.

Reviews had questioned the need for a PG-13 cut of Deadpool 2, which often felt like a censored television version of the original. The official reason it was assembled was so young teenagers could enjoy the film with their parents, but it seems the real motivator was so the film could screen in China. Given the success of the move, it’s hard to fault the logic. It’s also amusing to note the very non-PC Deadpool 2 is now the most successful X-Men movie ever.

Despite Deadpool 2’s enormous success, the franchise’s path moving forward isn’t clear. The Fox/Disney merger means the completely different’ but didn’t indicate what would change.

More: Once Upon A Deadpool: Every Change In The PG-13 Version

Source: THR