After Deadpool 3 Confirms R-Rating, Fans Share Their Thoughts

It’s been five years since Deadpool 2 hit theaters and while we fully expected a third movie in the successful franchise is has yet to materialize. We’ve been continually assured that a Deadpool 3 would be a thing that would happen, even after Fox, the studio that made the first two films, was purchased by Disney. We expect some things to change now that the Mouse House is running the show, but one thing they promise will not change is the franchise’s rating.

Writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, who handled the screenplay for the first two Deadpool movies, and, after a brief period of not being involved in Deadpool 3, are back working on the new film as well, recently confirmed that the Deadpool 3 they are writing will be the same R-rated fair of the previous installments. Fans have a lot of thoughts on Twitter about this, but are mostly just happy to see it happening. 

There’s a feeling from many fans that a PG-13 Deadpool would just be too limiting for the character. Whether that’s true in an absolute sense or not, certainly after seeing two R-rated installments, a third one that was PG-13 would feel held back. But for some fans the importance of an R-rated Deadpool 3 goes far beyond the single film, because it could open the doors for more R-rated movies in the MCU more broadly. 

The fast majority of films that are designed to be crowd pleasing blockbusters are designed to be PG-13 but there are always a few outliers. We have yet to see an R-rated entry in the MCU, so Deadpool 3 will almost certainly be the first, but once it exists, and assuming it is successful, that will only increase the odds that other parts of the franchise might be able to go the R-rated route. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was still a PG-13 movie, but it wouldn’t have taken a great deal for it to be an R-rated film if Marvel had wanted to do so. It’s actually a great example of how a Marvel movie can be kept in the PG-13 sphere and still include some significantly violent imagery. The thing that would probably send Deadpool 3 over the top ratings wise would probably be the language more than the violence. 

Of course, because the MCU has been a franchise welcoming to everybody, we know a lot of younger kids have been watching it, and even if mom and dad have kept them away from the Deadpool movies previously, if this new film is actually part of the larger franchise, those same kids will certainly want to see it.

While many fans are welcoming, or debating the value, of an R-rated Deadpool 3, others are just wondering why we are currently having this conversation. The fact is this isn’t the first time we’ve been told by people at Marvel Studios or Disney that Deadpool 3 would not be significantly altered if and when a new movie was made.

Of course, since Deadpool 3 is still very early in its pre-production, even with all the assurances, not everybody is convinced that Disney will follow through and let Deadpool 3 be rated-R. We’ve seen the studio get cold feet before when the Disney brand and mature topics got a little too close for comfort.  

It certainly is true that until Deadpool 3 is released, a lot of things could happen, and right now we have no idea when that will be. If an R-rated Deadpool is released by Marvel Studios it will be a big deal for Marvel, and a history making moment for Disney.