Since it was first revealed that Disney was looking to purchase 20th Century Fox, a number of Marvel fans grew anxious that Disney would bringDeadpoolmovies down to a PG-13 rating going forward, while doing the same for all of Fox’s other R-rated properties likeKingsmanandPredator. The recent release ofOnce Upon a Deadpoolessentially served as an experiment by Fox, taking the already releasedDeadpool 2and putting it into a PG-13 format. The recent release ofOnce Upon A Deadpoolpushes one question to the forefront of many fans' minds: willDeadpoolmovies remain PG-13 going forward?
WhileOnce Upon A Deadpoolwasn’t quite the best, leaving a number of its promises presented through its marketing empty, it was decent at being PG-13. Much of the original comedy still worked, even without the gore and language being cut out. The movie still pushed the limitations of a raunchy comedy, still being far from “family friendly” while also managing to fit everything into the parameters of the MPAA’s PG-13 guidelines. ThoughOnce Upon A Deadpooldid feel rather choppy in its editing compared to the originalDeadpool 2, this is mainly because they had to edit around the bad language. Had the script already been at a PG-13 level,Once Upon A Deadpoolwould have felt a lot more smooth. Though the movie may not have been able to push as many limits as before,Once Upon A Deadpooldid show that aDeadpoolmovie can be made at a PG-13 level and still keep the essence that makes Deadpool so great on screen.
However, the question at hand isn’t, “would aDeadpoolmovie work at a PG-13 level?” Instead, the question is, “willDeadpoolmovies remain PG-13 going forward?” While this is obviously a question that will get a definitive answer further down the road, taking a look back at some of the previous statements made by Disney executives may help to give us a clue of what they are thinking they will do withDeadpooland the other R-rated properties currently owned by Fox.
Last year, when news of the Fox-Disney merger first surfaced, the future of theDeadpoolfranchises was one of the most asked questions on the matter. It wasn’t long before Disney’s CEO Bob Iger spoke up about the concern in order to give us a glimpse of what they were expecting to do with the R-rated franchise. Here’s what he had to say on the matter.
“[Deadpool] clearly has been and will be Marvel branded. But we think there might be an opportunity for a Marvel-R brand for something like Deadpool. As long as we let the audiences know what’s coming, we think we can manage that fine.”
While it may seem unusual for Disney to release R-rated movies, it’s not entirely unheard of. In fact, the hit Quentin Tarantino moviePulp Fictionwas actually released by Disney back in 1994. While Disney would never release anything R-rated under the Disney logo, they aren’t afraid to release R-rated movies under other logos that they own, such as Miramax Films in the case ofPulp Fiction. Surely, almost every R-rated franchise currently being planned at Fox will still be carried out under Disney’s management, as long as the movies open up with the Fox logo rather than Disney’s.
While movies likeKingsmanandPredatorappear to still be in the clear under Disney, the case ofDeadpoolis still a bit muddy. While Bob Iger did say a year ago that he would be comfortable releasingDeadpoolmovies with an R-rating under the Marvel Studios logo, he also expressed that his greatest concern in the matter would be communicating to audiences that it was not for kids. Historically speaking, this is a lot more difficult than it sounds.
Back in 2016, when the firstDeadpoolmovie released in theaters, it was heavily marketed as a raunchy superhero movie, with a number of the trailers and promotions including heavy profanity. Despite this, a number of parents still brought their children to the movie, only seeing the Marvel logo and automatically assuming it would be family friendly. This resulted in quite a number of issues, with theaters eventually refusing to refund tickets for parents who mistakenly brought their kids to the movie but left after only ten minutes.
While thatDeadpoolincident was obviously a fluke, it did have consequences, not just for Fox and the movie theaters that showedDeadpool, but also for Marvel Studios. The Marvel logo at the beginning ofDeadpoolmade people immediately associate the movie with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as not everyone realized that they were two different franchises under two different studios.
ShouldDisney release R-rated Deadpool movies, specifically under the Marvel Studios brand, it would more than likely have some sort of negative impact on the brand that they have worked so hard to establish over the past ten years. At the end of the day, especially after seeingOnce Upon A Deadpoolwork adequately under the PG-13 parameters, it may end up being in Disney’s best interest to pursue aDeadpoolfranchise without the excessive use of blood orF-bombs.
While this would at first be a huge turn-off forDeadpoolfans who have become accustomed to the language and gore inDeadpoolmovies, theDeadpoolfranchisewill still be entertaining nonetheless. Traditionally in the comics, Deadpool is not defined by his language or violence, but rather his style of humor. In fact, numerous Deadpool comics have the same language limitations as a PG-13 movie, yet still manage to entertain comic-book readers.Once Upon A Deadpoolproved that this format can work on screen. Though the movie ultimately suffered for being a choppy edit of the original cut ofDeadpool 2, hadOnce Upon A Deadpoolbeen released back in May rather thanDeadpool 2, it more than likely would have been received rather well.
At the end of the day, this is all speculation, but considering that Fox went so far as to giveOnce Upon A Deadpoola theatrical run, it really seems like Disney and Fox will be looking to keepDeadpoolmovies PG-13 going forward, despite Bob Iger’s comments to The Hollywood Reporter from a year ago. Fox’s other R-rated properties should be kept in tact in the merger, but considering that all of theX-Menproperties will be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s unlikely that we will ever see an R-ratedDeadpoolmovie again.
