Everyone loves Marvel movies, right? Well, traditionally, anyway — The Marvels‘ disastrous box office performance is calling that into question. But, generally speaking, kids and adults alike adore the MCU.
And yet other studios have found enormous success in exploring the mature side of the superhero genre and it seems Marvel Studios is finally looking to get in on that action. Before the Multiverse Saga concludes, we will have received a handful of projects on both the big and small screens that will mark Marvel’s first foray into the world of R-ratings and TV-Ma certificates.
Hardcore Marvel fans are naturally excited to see the studio embrace the darker, gnarlier extremes of its universe that it’s previously repressed, so there’s a lot of anticipation for these productions. For those wanting to keep track, here’s every MCU movie and TV show confirmed to have a mature rating to date, in order of release.
Echo — Jan. 10, 2024
Echo went from everyone’s least-anticipated Disney Plus show to one of their most when Marvel dropped the first-look trailer for it in early November. As its bone-crunching footage teased, the five-part Hawkeye spinoff will indeed be rated TV-MA, with showrunner Sydney Freeland promising Netflix’s Defenders Saga was a huge influence on this gritty, street-level addition to Marvel’s roster of streaming shows. In addition, Echo will also pioneer the Marvel Spotlight banner, assigned to projects that are detached from the wider Multiverse Saga.
Deadpool 3 — July 26, 2024
Disney really had no choice when it came to making Deadpool 3 R-rated as fans of the Merc with the Mouth would’ve rioted if it had been PG-13. As it happened, though, it seems everyone involved was keen to uphold the adults-only angling of the Fox franchise from the off — Bob Iger confirmed as much at a Disney shareholders meeting in December 2019. So why was the company so keen on that when Ryan Reynolds’ irreverent anti-hero doesn’t exactly vibe with the Mickey Mouse brand? Hmm, it might have something to do with the fact the first two Deadpool movies made over $1.5 billion at the box office.
Blade — Nov. 7, 2025
Likewise, it would’ve surely been impossible to make a Blade reboot without retaining the R-rating of the original comic book horror trilogy starring Wesley Snipes. Unfortunately, Blade‘s R-rating is pretty much all we know about the Mahershala Ali movie after it has passed through so many hands and changed release date so many times. Director Yann Demange is eager to get going on the much-plagued reimagining of the Daywalker, though, telling Deadline in Nov. 2023 that retaining that mature certificate is “so important” to the character and his world.
Marvel Zombies — TBD
Hands up who actually remembered Marvel Zombies was a thing? Yes, don’t forget, What If…? season 1’s jaunt to a zombie apocalypse universe got the studio’s creative juices flowing so much that an animated series based solely in that world is on its way. It’s just, you know, taking a very method approach to its production process and is being as slow as a zombie in getting here. Admittedly, this one is probably on the back burner for Marvel at the moment, amid the extreme restructuring of its Disney Plus slate, but this confirmed R-rated animation is nonetheless still confirmed to be happening.
But, wait, what about Daredevil: Born Again?
I know what you’re thinking: where is Daredevil: Born Again? Surely Disney Plus’ much-anticipated reboot of the beloved Netflix series renowned for its maturity and unflinching action will sport a TV-MA rating too?
Well, you would think so, but intel has indicated that wasn’t the plan for the original version of the show. This could be one plus side of the series being sent back to the drawing board halfway through production, however, with Moon Knight directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead taking the reins. Word has it Marvel wants to bring it closer to the Netflix show, so fingers crossed that will include slapping it with a TV-MA certificate. Although perhaps that’ll all depend on the success of Echo…