Some things just need to be left the way they are. If Disney has such an issue with it then perhaps they should have thought twice about which properties they were buying in the first place, hmm? Reading what Ryan Scott from MovieWeb has to say it would almost seem as though Deadpool’s director, David Leitch, is on board with the idea of making the merc with a mouth into a PG-13 movie, which seems like one of the worst ideas to come along since, well, ever. One thing about Deadpool is that he’s never really been much of a PG-13 character, EVER. He’s got a mouth that would shame most people and his level of violence has the tendency to draw in a crowd unlike many other movies have ever done. The moment he goes down a rating however is the moment it would seem that he’s bound to be tamed by the house of mouse, as it would seem they’re trying to do.
The problem with finding a ‘happy ground’ as Sarah El-Mahmoud from CinemaBlend alludes to is this: it will kill the Deadpool we know and love at this time, almost literally. Disney is well-known for the family friendly films it pumps out and that idea that no matter how bad it gets they’re not going to sacrifice their integrity and just allow a little blood to splash all over the place. But quite honestly they’ve taken on a bit more than they seem capable of handling in Deadpool since if they do tame him, which they will try to do no doubt, it’s going to take us back to the days of the X-Men when Wolverine could be seen using his claws and somehow not drawing blood or flinging it across the room in great ribbons of crimson. Imagine Deadpool just ‘holding the blood in’ when he loses a body part or is otherwise injured. Would that suit Disney, to give a less than rational physical response to the kind of trauma that Deadpool deals in? Or would they take it even further just for spite and have him beat everyone up with a stuffed unicorn while trading sarcastic, non-profanity laced remarks at them? It might be time to grow up a bit Disney, most of your most avid viewers already have years before.
It’s amusing how back in February Brent Lang of Variety reported that Bob Iger went so far as to state that Disney will allow Deadpool to remain R-rated, but they would be careful not to brand it in the same manner as Marvel movies. Take a moment and let that one sink in, they’d allow the movie to stay R, but it wouldn’t be associated with the MCU lest they ‘corrupt’ it somehow. Iger, Disney, you own everything Fox had, meaning you own some very down and dirty movies that don’t conform to what the MCU stands for. And on top of that, some of the heroes in the MCU have been desensitized since Thor has been knocked down a few pegs, the Hulk has been all but neutered in a way, and Hawkeye is now the only ‘dark sheep’ on the team. In truth the MCU is starting to look like the spot where the heroes we once looked up to go to be made over in the new, friendlier version that few if any people want. Obviously the movies that have come out have been wildly popular, making a big success and proving people wrong in a big way, but at the same time those of us that remember the heroes and the villains as they were in the past are less than pleased since the version we have now is, believe it or not, far more cuddly and friendly than anything that was revealed in the comics.
Deadpool has always been a controversial character, it’s how he thrives and how people know him. Deadening that after promising that he wouldn’t be changed is one of the biggest and most hypocritical mistakes that Disney could possibly make, and should they go through with it then rest assured if Deadpool joins the MCU in any way, shape, or form as a PG-13 character he’s going to be greatly diminished, in attitude as well as character. Sometimes a character needs to remain raw, rugged, ragged, and free to do what they normally do and say, otherwise you get the feeling the people are being censored unnecessarily for the sensibilities of those that would rather seem them in true form. If Deadpool goes PG-13 we might as well wave goodbye to half of what makes him a likable character since having his words and his actions clipped with be just another way that Disney is telling us that what we want no longer matters, so long as they get their revenue.
