The fans of superhero movies rejoiced when they found out about the Disney-Fox merger. Since The Walt Disney Company owns Marvel Studios and Fox owns the X-Men, there were no bounds to our happiness. It was a golden day for every fan of comic books in general and superheroes in particular. The mutants finally have a chance of appearing alongside the Avengers now in the same frame. But like everything in this world, this story is too not as cut and dry as you think. Deadpool, the Merc With A Mouth, is one of Fox’s most prized possessions. And if things do happen the way the winds of change are blowing, we might see Deadpool in the MCU.
There is but one catch though – Deadpool’s R-rated tone would never ever mix with the formulaic pacing of the MCU movies. And this, ladies and gentlemen, complicates things.
Deadpool’s R-Rated Tone Is Unique
How many times have you seen a fourth wall breaking bloodthirsty mercenary with a mouth fouler than a garbage can on a hot summer day in Florida? Deadpool broke records when it hit the theaters because it gave the fans something they never knew they wanted. Movies that came before Deadpool had been serious or comic, there was no in-between. Movies like Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy were dark but never dabbled in humor. Marvel Studios made their movies exceptionally hilarious at the expense of losing that grim and dark tone some fans really love. Seldom do we see a movie that manages to stay within this morally gray area of plot and direction. What Deadpool did was brilliantly simple – it explored a sub-genre that was lost to time.
And Deadpool brought it back with a vengeance. The result – Deadpool 1 and 2 have a combined total Box Office earnings of more than 1.6 Billion US Dollars. Even subsequent Fox X-Men movies, a franchise that had existed long before Deadpool, could not top that benchmark. There’s a reason Marvel released that Deadpool-Korg promo for Ryan Reynolds’ comedy sci-fi movie Free Guy. They know how lucrative a brand Deadpool has become. The fact that they allowed Deadpool to interact with an MCU character before any other mutant heroes from pre-existing X-Men movies is proof of his value to Marvel Studios.
Why Deadpool & MCU Will Not Mix
This has been a longstanding debate within the Marvel Community. Can Disney and Marvel Studios handle the violence and gore in R-Rated franchises like Deadpool? Disney is known to nerf down the darkness factor in its movies too to appeal to a wider audience. The formulaic approach to superhero movies works, no doubt about that. The MCU now stands as the greatest movie franchise ever made in Hollywood history. But this formula based approach will be Deadpool’s bane. If Disney tries to bring Deadpool directly under the MCU, then the R-Rated tone will obviously by diluted and watered down.
We do not want to see a Deadpool who has every alternate word beeped because it is apparently not “family-friendly” enough for the theaters.
Deadpool Must Stay Out Of The MCU For The Sake Of Other R-Rated Heroes
We don’t just want Deadpool out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Deadpool’s sake. There are an umpteen amount of reasons why Wade Wilson deserves to be in his own separate universe. Chief of those reasons is that there are other heroes with just as much or even more potential than Deadpool for R-Rated action. Take the Punisher or Daredevil for example. Both heroes already have established series, courtesy of Netflix. Disney is trying to get into the R-rated genre with Moon Knight. But there too there are a lot of obstacles. Supposedly, if rumors are indeed to be trusted, Disney is moving heaven and earth to give the show a PG-13 rating.
Considering Daredevil and Punisher also enter the MCU via Disney+ shows, can you imagine a PG-13 version of Frank Castle of Matt Murdock? We cannot even fathom how that works. But if Disney pulls it off with Moon Knight, they sure as hell will try to di=o it for other R-rated heroes. The list, sadly, will not end with just Wade Wilson.
There are ways how Deadpool can still be a part of the MCU multiverse but remain a separate franchise. Marvel could make him the mutant superhero hailing from another universe. Or maybe he hails from an alternate darker and bleaker timeline? If Disney put its greatest minds together, we are sure they can come up with an amicable solution.
