One of the more significant ramifications of Disney’s buyout of 21st Century Fox earlier this year has been the fate of the now former studio’s superhero roster. Fox produced a long line of X-Men films dating all the way back to 2000, and though the majority of them seamlessly fit in with the MCU’s family-friendly tone, one character in particular faces a more challenging integration into the Disneyverse. Let’s call it the Deadpool Problem.
Finding a way to introduce Ryan Reynolds’ colourful costume (and colourful diction) to a franchise separated from it by such a stark tonal chasm is a tall-order, even for a studio as imperious as Disney. But it looks like plans are already afoot to bridge the gap.
According to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Taskmaster would be the villain in Black Widow, and that a Ms. Marvel TV show was coming to D+, both of which have since been confirmed – Bob Iger and co. are working on the Merc with a Mouth’s big entrance, with two appearances mooted (though how much Mouth is permitted remains to be seen).
As we’ve previously told you, one could see him make a post-credits appearance in prospective Norse fourquel Thor: Love and Thunder, which has legs given director Taika Waititi has already marked himself out as the most boundary-pushing creative force in the franchise.
The other possibility, though, is a debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which has the potential to circumvent the dimensional restraints usually incumbent on these movie-universes. And from what we understand, whether he appears in Love and Thunder, Multiverse of Madness or even both (which we’re told is a possibility), it’d be via a post-credits scene.
Whichever approach they choose to take, it leaves them with an unusual dilemma. Deadpool broke new ground when it comes to R-rated blockbusters being viable money-spinners – it became the highest grossing R-rated film of all time, a record subsequently beaten by its own sequel (and again by Joker). All of which makes things sound very simple for Disney – they have a popular, commercially successful IP sitting right under their noses. But R-rated filmmaking is for them a rare uncharted territory – the fact that Deadpool 3 has yet to be commissioned is a telling lacuna.
As such, their handling of the character will draw more attention than most. As soon as we learn more about what they have planned, though, we’ll be sure to let you know.