An update from the screenwriters of Deadpool 3 has eased doubters' worries that MCU's Deadpool will stray from the previous two entries and release a watered-down version of the character. Created by Rob Liefeld in 1991, Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, the mutant "Merc with a mouth" is portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the first two films of the franchise, both of which fell under the umbrella of the now defunct 2oth Century Fox, who spearheaded the X-Men franchise from 2000 to 2019. Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, which would allow them to merge or reboot any and all of the X-Men characters (including Deadpool) within their already-established MCU. Deadpool 2 was released in 2018 and serves as the last time the character was seen on the big screen. Both Deadpool films earned a combined $1.5 billion at the global box office, which is no small feat and has left fans wondering what's taking Disney so long to produce a sequel.

Deadpool is portrayed in the comics as a fourth-wall breaking character, known for his crude, violent, and goofy demeanor, which earned the character one of the few mainstream comic adaptations to garner an R-rating. The unhinged and excessive language, violence, and occasional nudity allowed for Reynolds and his collaborators to push the boundaries of Deadpool, while bringing him to life in a way that's befitting of his comic roots. While some audiences complained that it was too excessive for a superhero film, especially with the majority of the films in the genre being marketed to kids and teenagers with PG-13 ratings, Deadpool managed to secure a foothold with it's mature rating, compounded by the massive box-office success it brought - despite the supposed barrier of an R-rating.

One of the biggest concerns over Disney buying 20th Century Fox was what it meant for the more mature-rated content, such as Deadpool. Disney is branded as "family entertainment," so there has been legitimate worry that it would mean a watering-down of franchises like Alien, Predator, Deadpool, and anything that carried an R-rating previously under 20th Century Fox. A lot of back-and-forth over Deadpool has transpired since the acquisition and the character languished on the shelf, but those worries started to be assuaged within the last year, starting with Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, who said Deadpool 3 would be R-rated and that screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were being brought back onboard to write the sequel after briefly being replaced early on by Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin. Reese and Wernick recently said working on Deadpool 3 has been "a blast," with Disney being "hands-off and supportive" to their vision for the sequel, which should ease fears for those who thought it would be diluted to fit a PG-13 audience.

What Disney's "Hands Off" Approach Means For Deadpool 3


Typically with Disney's MCU films (and now series) there are a lot of moving parts to contend with and a lot of oversight in terms of how the story plays out. Since the MCU follows a "Phase" model (currently in Phase 4), the stories and characters need to follow at least a few story rules and guidelines that help lead into the next show or film, while planting seeds for sequels, spinoffs, or lead-ins to other characters. For Deadpool 3, Reese and Wernick's comments make it sound like they are simply crafting the next chapter in Deadpool's saga, blending him into the MCU after the 20th Century Fox merger, while making it part of the script, teasing a "fish-out-of-water" story, that will "drop a lunatic into a very sane world."

The screenwriters went on to say that Disney has "let us do what we do" and what they've done before is craft a violent, hilarious, profanity-laced Deadpool films for the masses, which proves that those who doubted Disney's resolve to see Deadpool retain his R-rated edge were wrong. The fears, however, were not unfounded, as Deadpool is a bit of an anomaly for the genre, especially since it's one of the few Marvel properties to get the mature-rating treatment. Disney has shown that it's not afraid of mature content as much as anticipated, releasing the Netflix Marvel shows on Disney+ (with a content warning) and allowing their other acquired properties to retain their edge, such as the Predator spinoff Prey getting an R-rating. Based on that and Reese and Wernick's comments, expressing their excitement to be back doing what they do best, the "hands off" approach means that Deadpool 3 will be well in line with what came before and perhaps even better now that it gets to play in an even bigger pool.