Kevin Feige Explains Why Only Deadpool 3 Is Getting R-Rating

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have been disheartened by the news that Deadpool 3 is set to be the only R-rated project in the franchise’s immediate future, mostly due to the fact it pretty much confirms the Blade reboot is going to be PG-13, which is hardly the ideal circumstance for creating an action movie where the title hero slices and dices his way through hordes of vampires.

Then again, it does provide even more of a challenge for the creative team to deliver the sort of spectacle audiences want to see without having to go all-in on the blood, guts, violence and gore, so hopefully star Mahershala Ali and writer Stacey Ossei-Kuffour are coming up with some ideas for set pieces that can push the boundaries of the rating as far as possible without crossing the line.

As for Deadpool 3, you get the distinct impression that Kevin Feige would rather not be making an R-rated, foul-mouthed, self-aware and meta sequel to another studio’s property with a title hero that doesn’t fit into the MCU’s wheelhouse in the slightest, but the company’s Chief Creative Officer has built his reputation on giving the people exactly what they want, and they want the Merc with a Mouth.

In a new interview, Feige once again confirmed that Marvel Studios are actively working on the project, and explained why Deadpool 3 is going to be an outlier in terms of tone and content.

“I think we target everything we’re doing for kids and adults, so I think your question is more adult or R-rated. Other than Deadpool, which has already established itself as a certain genre and a certain rating, that we already said we would not mess with when we started working on Deadpool, which we have, other than that, we haven’t encountered a story or a storyline or a character’s journey that a PG-13, or the tone, or the ratings we’ve been using up to this point has prevented us. We haven’t been held back by it. If we ever are, than certainly there can be a discussion that can be had now that there’s other outlets like STAR. But that just hasn’t been the case. We’ve told all the stories that we wanted to with the tonality and the rating we have now.”

You can’t fault Feige’s logic, with the architect of the most successful franchise in history never toying with the idea of R-rated movies before because he’s found no logical reason to, but Deadpool 3 is an entirely different proposition that will stand alone among the MCU’s rapidly expanding roster of feature films and TV shows.