When the family-focused Walt Disney Company moved to acquired 20th Century Fox, many wondered if the integration of Marvel properties would have one particular casualty: the R-rated nature of Deadpool.
Well, on a recent earnings call, the CEO of Disney Bob Iger assured investors that Disney plans on keeping Deadpool rated R and that R-rated movies will be a part of their plans moving forward.
“We’re going to continue in that business,” Iger said according to Variety. Iger explained that to differentiate between R-rated movies and more family-friendly fair the company will “carefully brand” those films. Meaning, they are unlikely to say “Disney” at the beginning of them. Which, makes sense. Disney owns ESPN but there’s no castle in front of Monday Night Football. ESPN is its own brand and Fox may continue to be its own brand as well. At least for R-rated movies.
You have to think this was in part of the fact Once Upon a Deadpool, the PG-13 recut of Deadpool 2, underperformed at the box office. If that film had brought in a whole new audience for a character, maybe Disney would’ve considered taming him down. But, alas, the merc gets to keep his mouth.
The bigger question, though, remains unanswered. Will that continued R-rated world of Deadpool extended into the PG-13 world of the Avengers or, eventually, the X-Men? We still don’t know, but we’ll bring you more as we learn it.