Earlier this year, Deadpool quietly joined the MCU when the Disney/Fox merger closed and Disney’s Marvel Studios earned the rights to the Merc with the Mouth, along with Fantastic Four and X-Men. While the latter properties could certainly benefit from a little TLC within the hugely-successful universe, Wade Wilson has been doing just dandy without the studio so far.
Another movie for the anti-hero is coming but the question on everyone’s mind is this: will Disney’s Deadpool be a more censored (and less fun?) version of Ryan Reynolds’ iconic role? Here’s what Deadpool 2 director David Leitch said to Yahoo:
It's rated R so that's not necessarily the [MCU] brand but he doesn't necessarily need to be R and [Disney] don't necessarily need to only make PG-13 movies. I think we'll find a happy ground.
Looks like they’re still figuring it out. As the David Leitch explains, it could go either way. Since the MCU has never released an R-rated flick, they may not want to start now with Deadpool. Fox has already released two raunchy, bloody movies starring the Merc with the Mouth, so in Marvel Studio’s hands, perhaps they’ll adapt it for a wider audience with a PG-13 rating.
However, part of Deadpool’s success stems from its foul-mouthed, bloodstained nature. Months ago, Marvel Chief Kevin Feige said they would not be changing Deadpool, as the studio has a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude about their new properties. However, there was no mention of Wade Wilson at Marvel’s recent San Diego Comic-Con panel where Feige announced the Phase Four slate and the development of new Fantastic Four and X-Men movies.
David Leitch continued with these words about the future of Deadpool:
There's a lot of mystery still surrounding what they want to do with Deadpool in [Disney’s] Marvel world but I think, from discussions that I've heard, it's all positive… I think that they're just trying to figure a way in.
Do you interweave Deadpool to the larger MCU or keep him on his own solo track? David Leitch hasn’t gotten a call to helm Deadpool 3, but he is already thinking about how awesome it would be to see a crossover between Ryan Reynolds’ hero and Mahershala Ali’s Blade, since they are both swordsmen.
David Leitch has recently admitted that he doesn’t know where Marvel is in development for the third movie, but thinks it could still happen in Phase Four. Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld did take to Twitter last month to assure fans Deadpool 3 is happening “soon”.
For now, the director has a No. 1 movie in theaters: Fast and the Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw. The movie starring Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and Idris Elba has made $179 million worldwide so far after a $60 million weekend debut.
What do you want to see from Deadpool 3? Sound off in the comments below!
