Deadpool is on his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the franchise is taking some steps to make Deadpool 3 easier to work in. In portraying the Merc with a Mouth, Ryan Reynolds' tenure as Deadpool has quite the story behind it. Reynolds attachment to Wade Wilson stretches back all the way to 2004, with Reynolds making his debut as the character in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Unfortunately, the version of Deadpool seen in the movie, complete with his mouth sewn shut, left audiences less than amused.

Wade's fortunes changed with the 2016 release of his solo movie Deadpool. Despite the difficulties it had experienced in getting off the ground, Deadpool was one of the biggest hits of the year. Its success led to Deadpool 2 in 2018, but despite also becoming huge success, Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox ended all of the studio's then-current Marvel franchises.

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That end won't be permanent for Deadpool, though, with Deadpool 3 officially being in the works at Marvel Studios. Reynolds will return as Wade Wilson, and the movie will reportedly retain the R-rating of its two predecessors. This makes Deadpool 3 the first ever R-rated entry in the MCU, but as with any ratings and content leap along those lines, proper preparation is essential. Fortunately, a few more immediately upcoming MCU projects hint to the groundwork being laid for Deadpool 3 to arrive without unnecessary difficulty for itself or the franchise.

How MCU Phase 4 Is Proving An R-Rated Deadpool 3 Can Happen

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The MCU is well-known for its all-around light-hearted tone and four-quadrant tailored style. That, of course, makes some of Marvel's darker characters more of a question mark in how they'd be integrated into the franchise. Does Marvel take the gloves off and let characters like Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and Blade go out with R-ratings, or only permit them to go as far as a PG-13 will allow? While there's understandable skepticism even among many MCU fans towards the former, there are hints that Marvel may start dipping its toes into R-rated waters.

The Moon Knight Disney+ series is one such example. Given Moon Knight is a notoriously complicated and gritty character, his show will undoubtedly be the darkest yet on Disney+. While Moon Knight isn't going to go full-on Logan on the largely child-friendly platform, the show nonetheless indicates the MCU is easing into dark and more mature characters and stories. Daredevil's MCU return is another example. Following Charlie Cox's cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Matt Murdock will be seen again in the MCU, as Charlie Cox has made clear. The darker tone of Daredevil and the other Marvel-Netflix shows could further facilitate the MCU expanding its horizons for storytelling of that nature. While this helps with Deadpool's MCU debut, it's not the only challenge that would need to be addressed for him.

She-Hulk Will Prove Deadpool's 4th Wall Breaking Can Work In The MCU

Tatiana Maslany She-Hulk

Aside from the cartoon violence and adult humor of the Deadpool movies, the other big hurdle he faces in entering the MCU is his self-awareness. Part of Deadpool's nature is his proclivity for breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to both comic book readers and audience members. The problem for the MCU is, while Deadpool's self-awareness is one of the main sources of his sense of humor, it can also undercut the impact of emotional moments. It's hard to imagine events like Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War or Peter Parker allowing the world's memory of him to be erased in No Way Home to have the same impact if Deadpool is on-hand to wink at the audience. However, the upcoming She-Hulk series may have begun injecting a dash of Deadpool's signature character trait into the MCU.

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In the teaser for She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) breaks the fourth wall with the famous quote of her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). Looking directly into the camera, Jennifer says, "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." To be sure, this is just the teaser, but it could also suggest some similar degree of self-awareness might be seen on She-Hulk. It likely won't take the same in-your-face approach as Deadpool would. However, like with their more R-rated characters such as the Punisher, Marvel seems to be taking the approach of gradually easing audiences into the fourth wall being breached. In Deadpool's case, the important thing is that his audience interactions not be utilized during moments of great emotional or dramatic weight. The first Deadpool movie had a surprising amount of drama itself in Wade Wilson's reluctance to see his former fiancée Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) again after his face is deformed. If Deadpool's MCU role stays on that same path, his references to his fictional nature shouldn't interfere with the actual storytelling at play.

Deadpool Can Lead To More R-Rated Movies & Shows In Phase 5

Hugh Jackman Ryan Reynolds Wolverine Logan Deadpool

While R-rated comic book movies already existed long before the release of Deadpool, the movie's 2016 debut opened the floodgates for them in a way that they'd never been. Logan's release a year later was another massive hit, while 2019's Joker became highly acclaimed along with becoming as the biggest R-rated movie of all time. Until Deadpool, the first two Blade movies were the only mainstream R-rated superhero films to really break out big. With Deadpool having such an impact on his own, and after many years of development hell, he could be a similar pioneer in the MCU.

Deadpool's arrival in the franchise could even happen sooner than expected, if whispers of Wade making a cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are true. Of course, if that happens, Deadpool probably won't be allowed to drop f-bombs or sever heads with his swords just yet. Looking a bit further down the road, an R-rated Deadpool 3 could finally be what leads the MCU to let other, more mature characters and movies, including Mahershala Ali's forthcoming Blade reboot, to take on R-ratings. One might call it "The Deadpool Effect".

With the Deadpool movies being such breakout hits, the Merc with a Mouth is a strong big-screen presence as a solo act. Wade Wilson boarding the MCU still isn't as simple as Spider-Man's entry. The decision of whether or not to remain committed to an R-rating and how best to implement Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking were major considerations for Marvel Studios to tackle. With that said, the MCU is sending signals that these challenges are being addressed. Hopefully, this means that Deadpool 3's arrival in the MCU will continue all the comedic, action packed, R-rated hi jinks of its two predecessors without the transition being noticeably jarring (though What If...? might've helped a little, too.)

NEXT: Thunderbolts & MCU Phase 4 Are Good Signs For Deadpool 3

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