With the Disney/Fox acquisition finally complete, will Deadpool join the Marvel Cinematic Universe - or go it alone? The deal between Disney and Fox has been in the works for over a year, but at last it's complete, which means the film rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four franchises have reverted to Marvel Studios. While X-Men: Dark Phoenix is still sure to release (Disney has pledged to release all completed Fox projects) the fate of New Mutants is a lot more unclear. There's been some discussion Disney will choose to drop that on Hulu rather than opt for a theatrical release.

Fantastic Four relaunch is inevitable, with Marvel sure to want to introduce major villains such as Doctor Doom and Galactus into the MCU. The X-Men are a little bit trickier, given the concept of "mutants" will drastically reshape the fabric of the shared cinematic universe; as such, it's probably going to be several years before fans get to see an X-Man standing side-by-side with Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, or Black Panther. Kevin Feige has openly reminded fans that it's not just a matter of what he called "marquee names" like Wolverine or Professor Xavier, too. "There are hundreds of names on those documents, on those agreements," he noted. Given Fox has been using the key X-Men since the year 2000, it wouldn't be a surprise if Marvel opted to introduce some third-tier characters before moving on to the more famous mutants.

Related: What The Fox/Disney Deal Means For Marvel's Future

But what does this mean for Deadpool? The '90s comic icon has had something of a revival, ever since test footage leaked online and Fox tentatively green lit a movie following the positive response from fans. The first film, which released in 2016, was an absolute hit, grossing a stunning $783 million. It was then matched by Deadpool 2, which grossed $785 million. It's clear the character is popular, and Ryan Reynolds has come to define the role in the same way Robert Downey Jr. defines Tony Stark. But the Merc With A Mouth doesn't quite fit with the tone, style, and(above all) family-friendly vibe of the MCU... so what will Disney do with him?

Deadpool Has A Proper Future Post-Disney

Deadpool holds up an iPhone with a stereo app in Deadpool 2

Disney CEO Bob Iger has always insisted the House of Mouse wants to keep on making Deadpool movies. Back in December 2017, shortly after talks between Disney and Fox first went public, he fielded questions from the press about Wade Wilson's fate. "There may be an opportunity for an R-rated Marvel brand," he noted, "as long as we let audiences know what’s coming." More recently, during a Quarter 1 earnings call for the 2019 fiscal year, he further stressed that he believes future Deadpool sequels will be R-rated. He pointed out that there is "certain popularity" with the Deadpool franchise, although he did stress that Marvel would need to be "carefully branding [R-rated films]… so we’re not in any way confusing the consumer."

Disney's logic with Deadpool is pretty simple: why mess with success? It looks as though Deadpool will be the only Fox character not to be rebooted by Disney, with Ryan Reynolds staying on and the movies continuing to be R-rated. What's more, given Iger has stated that he thinks all Marvel properties should be "supervised by one entity," most fans have assumed that means Deadpool will be entering the MCU. "There shouldn't be two Marvels," Iger observed in an interview last September.

Deadpool's Future Clashes With The MCU

Deadpool meeting Negasonic Teenage Warhead

The problem, though, is that Deadpool isn't well-suited to the MCU. Although Kevin Feige has suggested R-rated movies are "not out of the question," the fact remains that the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself is not R-rated. That's by design, and not by accident; it's because Marvel aims to produce tentpole four-quadrant blockbusters. Disney itself has a very distinctive brand, one that's aimed at a family audience, and they don't diverge from it. Recent rumors that Black Widow would be Marvel's first R-rated movie proved to be ill-founded, with Feige insisting Marvel never even considered the idea.

Related: MCU Phase 1 Moments That Disney Wouldn't Allow Today

Meanwhile, it's important to remember that the Deadpool franchises have other recurring characters than just Wade Wilson. In part, the success of the Deadpool franchise is because Fox assigned just the right actors for the secondary roles as well: Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, Josh Brolin as Cable, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio. If Marvel and Disney don't want to mess with success, then they'll need to retain the same secondary cast as well as Ryan Reynolds. But that binds the Deadpool films into a cohesive universe of X-Mansions and Blackbird Jets, of mutant prisons and secret genetic experiments. It doesn't sit well with the current MCU continuity.

Page 2 of 2: What Approach Could Disney and Marvel Take With Deadpool?

Will Deadpool Exist Apart From The MCU?

All this raises the likelihood that Deadpool will work better as a separate entity from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Indeed, there's a sense in which Iger already seems to have hinted as much. He's kept referring to the idea of a specific R-rated Marvel brand - something to "let audiences know what's coming." That sounds very similar to the mature, all-audiences brands that Marvel Comics used to publish under the "Marvel MAX" brand. That imprint debuted with Alias by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, which dealt with issues of rape, trauma, and violence. The "Marvel MAX" titles were clearly linked to the main Marvel Comics universe, but remained self-contained.

It wouldn't actually be too difficult for Marvel to continue the Deadpool franchise as it is, retaining the same secondary characters. As it stands, the franchise has two major advantages that would allow it to carry on. Firstly, it's entirely self-contained, set in a near-future timeline and not featuring any of the main X-Men characters. The closest it comes to a major X-Man is Colossus, and he may well be a small price to pay for keeping Deadpool going. Secondly, it also has a clear direction. Deadpool 2 was designed to set up X-Force, which in turn was to be followed up by Deadpool 3. By setting up a new Marvel brand, Marvel would be able to continue with those plans. "This is all now in Disney’s playground and they get to decide," X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner noted. "At least we know it’s in good hands, everybody’s worked really hard up til now on our Fox side, but now it’s gonna be Disney’s call."

Related: Rebooting The X-Men Is Easier For Marvel Than Rebooting Spider-Man

Interestingly, it's possible Donner - and others associated with the Fox X-Men films - will be kept on by Marvel Studios for the foreseeable future. Kevin Feige has a good working relationship with Donner; in fact, long before Marvel Studios began producing their own films, Feige cut his teeth as an intern, assistant, and eventually an associate producer for Donner. According to THR, Donner is said to have a deal that calls for her to receive an executive producer credit on any X-Men movie whether or not she is actively involved. It may be best just to keep her on board, perhaps making her a key player in any Marvel MAX Deadpool plans.

How Marvel Can Still Use Deadpool

Deadpool in Avengers: Endgame Trailer

Oddly enough, all this doesn't necessarily rule Deadpool out of appearing in the MCU every now and again. The Merc With A Mouth is pretty much designed to be a flexible character; in the comics he turns up in cameos whenever a writer really wants him there, albeit toned down a little and with restrictions placed upon his potty mouth. Marvel Studios could take exactly the same approach. It's not hard to imagine a Deadpool cameo working in a film like Thor: Ragnarok or the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, for example; it's all a matter of choosing the appropriate places and ways to use him. In story terms, Deadpool could even explain away any continuity issues by throwing in a fourth-wall-breaking crack about using the time travel device he took from Cable in Deadpool 2.

There's a sense, then, in which Deadpool would end up existing in a sort of "gray area," still part of the MCU but on its outskirts and mainly part of his own, separately branded continuity. This approach essentially allows Marvel Studios to have their cake and eat it. They get to keep Fox's best-performing superhero franchise, and indeed avoiding disrupting it at all. At the same time, they also get the opportunity to toss in an occasional Deadpool cameo or team-up whenever it feels appropriate. Ultimately, though, the decision will be entirely up to Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios.

More: Marvel Studios’ First X-Men Movie Won’t Release Until At Least 2021

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