Ryan Reynolds cancels surgery to promote 'Deadpool 2' in China

Pic Courtesy: Movie Still

Los Angeles: Ryan Reynolds cancelled his arm surgery to fly to China for "Deadpool 2" promotions, ahead of the franchise's surprise theatrical debut in the country.

The 42-year-old star had injured his left arm shooting the film and was scheduled to have surgery in New York on Sunday, but skipped the appointment.

Last week, Fox announced that a re-cut, PG-13 "Deadpool 2" would hit Chinese screens on this Friday. This was the first time the franchise has passed the country's stringent censorship rules.

According to Variety, Reynolds told his fans in Beijing that he was not going to let the surgery interfere with his "dream" to visit China.

"It's been a dream of mine for years to bring 'Deadpool' to China and Chinese audiences, so for me this is, uh, heaven on earth.

"This was more important (than the operation). I was not going to miss coming to China," the actor said.

Chinese fans have dubbed the titular character, played by Reynolds, 'Little Jianjian', which the studio has loosely translated to 'Little Bi*chy Bi*ch'.

Reynolds, true to his wry humour self, said he believed he may have heard the moniker somewhere else before.

"I feel like my wife gave that to me first, but I guess China can get the credit.

"(It's the) perfect Deadpool nickname. It could have been something much weirder, like 'Hunting Wolf Blood-Chucker.' I'll take Little Bi*chy Bi*ch any day; it's the most fitting," he quipped.

He also went on to jokingly propose the new nickname as the title of the next "Deadpool" sequel.

Last year, the PG-13 version of "Deadpool 2" was released in the US as a Christmas special titled, "Once Upon A Deadpool".