The Marvel comic-book character Deadpool took more than a decade to get to the screen after star Ryan Reynolds started pushing for it, but once he got there, boy did he leave his mark. The Merc with a Mouth led Fox to take the record of the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. Of all time. And if there’s one thing we’ve seen time and time again, it’s that when something makes money, executives want more of that exact thing.
But we shouldn’t get our hopes up for R-rated movies coming from Marvel Studios, said CEO Kevin Feige speaking to The Hollywood Reporter.
“My takeaway from [Deadpool and Logan] is not the R rating; it’s the risk they took, the chances they took, the creative boundaries they pushed,” said Feige. “That should be the takeaway for everyone.”
It was the fourth-wall-shattering style of Deadpool and the finality of Logan that made those movies stand out, he explained.
Well that’s refreshing
Feige is right. When a creatively challenging work is successful, people often take the wrong things from it. Space Marines and Pulse Rifles from Aliens are classic examples.
The Marvel movies have been pushed on for looking and sounding same-y in an attempt to create a single, cohesive feel for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s good to see Feige suggesting he doesn’t want to take the movies down a particular path just because that’s the popular one right now.
If we want more R-rated superhero movies, we should likely look to Fox and DC/Warner Bros. for the time being.
The next movie to hit theaters from Marvel is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 5. Go for Chris Pratt and Groot, stay for five post-credits scenes.