Summary
WhileDeadpool & Wolverineset a Marvel Cinematic Universe record with its mature rating, the film’s director has revealed that at least one risque topic didn’t manage to escape the cutting room floor and how the film took that limitation in stride.
WhileDeadpool & Wolverinewas chosen as the project that would officially bring both the merc with a mouth and weapon X into the family-friendly world of the MCU, fans wereassured by theDeadpool3 writers it would be rated Rlike the two films preceding it in the franchise. This was confirmed by the film’s released trailers, which featured humor clearly above the line of the usual MCU fare, leading to even higher anticipation for the project in the leadup to its July premiere.
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While the company has gone so far asadding R-rated projects likeDeadpoolandLoganon Disney Plusin anticipation of the upcoming threequel, it’s recently been revealed that the creative team didn’t have carte blanche where the film’s content was concerned. Speaking toTotalFilmfor the cover story of the latest issue,Deadpool & Wolverinedirector Shawn Levy revealed that limitations on what the R-rated feature couldn’t include were discussed early on, with one major topic being off the table from the start. “I’m so wary of what I can say but certainly there were early conversations about overt drug use,” Levy revealed. “And we thought that was an interesting conversation. Let’s actually write a dialogue scene about having had it.” The dialogue made it into the advance trailers for the film, with Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool making a cheeky reference to the exclusion.
Deadpool & Wolverineis certainly a strong experimental move, asit’s rumored thatDaredevil: Born Againwill be R-ratedwhen it eventually releases on Disney Plus. While younger audiences are certainly more desensitized to violence, harsh language, and adult humor, the bold-faced use of illicit substances is certainly not on the same trend. Judging the market from that angle, it makes perfect sense that the powers that be at Disney would lay down the limitations they did concerning that subject matter. While the R-rating and all that it entails is central to the sort of humor and storytelling thatDeadpoolhas come to embody, the realities of an expansionist mindset in a media landscape rapidly reaching demographic saturation makes it a must that anything liable to end up on Disney Plus only pushes the envelope in a direction that parents and shareholders are already comfortable with.
Despite the buzz brought on by the label,R-rated superhero films might be a pointless conversation overall, as the existing ratings systems become more and more inconsequential for audiences and even studios. WithDeadpool & Wolverineguaranteed to draw people in across all demographics, this might be the most clear-cut sign that an R-rating isn’t quite the same as it was just a few years ago.
Deadpool & Wolverineis set for theatrical release on the 26th of July, 2024.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine marks Ryan Reynolds’s take on the Merc with a Mouth’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Together, the two embark on a universe-hopping, R-rated adventure that’s sure to change the MCU forever.
