It took a bit, but Ryan Reynolds has finally opened up about cutting his “darling friend” Rob McElhenney from one of the biggest movies of the year. 

McElhenney filmed his sequence in Deadpool & Wolverine as a Time Variance Authority foot soldier who meets his end at the mouth of the vaporous monster Alioth. But alas, the scene was cut. 

Ryan posted photos from the set on Instagram, noting, “While editing a movie, they say you ‘sometimes have to kill your darlings.’ And with a heavy heart (and through great outside intervention) I had to kill a darling with this cameo.”

“The sequence wasn’t working the way we’d originally constructed it,” Reynolds continued. “Rob was the only reason it stayed in the cut for as long as it did, because even under a TVA mask and helmet, you can feel him smoldering with a raw and almost infinite reservoir of talent, writerly wit and ‘I create hit tv shows’ swagger.”

He continued, “Anyway, I loved making this movie but it wasn’t without stress. … And when you do stressful stuff, it feels good when friends are nearby. And even though I’m mortified he flew all the way to London for a cameo that wasn’t meant to be, I’m grateful my friend was there with me on that set,” Ryan said. “When I see Rob, my heart-rate [sic] slows and my nervous system stops yelling at me.”

Ryan revealed McElhenney’s character “begged for his life before Alioth snatched his unsuspecting body into the air, swallowing him whole, eventually digesting and converting him into Alioth-poo,” adding it will “hopefully live on in the digital extras.”

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