Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds commemorates the Disney and Fox deal closing this week with a photo of Wade Wilson heading to Disney. After Reynolds made his poorly received debut as the Merc with a Mouth in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine (largely due to the movie's handling of the character rather than the actor's portrayal), a solo Deadpool movie languished in development hell for many years. However, when some leaked Deadpool test footage earned praise from diehard and casual fans alike, Fox finally greenlit the movie. Deadpool hit theaters in 2016, becoming a critical and box office success. The sequel, Deadpool 2, then a PG-13 recut of the sequel, Once Upon A Deadpool, hit theaters in 2018.
Like Fox's other X-Men properties, though, the future of Deadpool's on screen universe was put into question when it became clear Disney will purchase 21st Century Fox's movie and TV assets in a blockbuster deal that was initially reported in late 2017. For Marvel Comics fans, the big takeaway is that Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios will regain the rights to all the superheroes previously under the Fox umbrella - including the X-Men and Fantastic Four. The deal also includes a number of other high profile franchises, like James Cameron's Avatar, Ridley Scott's Alien and more. But many superhero fans are excited by the prospect of Marvel Studios bringing the X-Men into the MCU. Now, at least one X-Men franchise actor has responded to the deal closing this week.
Related: Deadpool Has A Proper Future At Disney Now
On Twitter, Reynolds commemorated the Disney and Fox deal officially closing tomorrow with a new image of Deadpool. He's on a yellow school bus marked Disney and is wearing a set of Mickey Mouse ears typically seen in any of Disney's theme parks. Check out the image below.
It's unclear what exactly will become of Deadpool once the franchise is officially transferred to Disney. CEO Bob Iger has been clear he wants to continue the success of the Merc with a Mouth's solo series with Deadpool sequels at Disney. But, since the R-rated tone Reynolds' superhero doesn't fall in line with Disney and Marvel Studios' PG-13 Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's unlikely an R-rated Deadpool movie will be included in the MCU. Whether that means Deadpool will stay separate from the rest of the MCU, and Disney will continue the spinoff franchise with X-Force and Deadpool 3, or he'll eventually team with the MCU heroes in a PG-13 film, remains to be seen.
Certainly, there will be fans who don't want Deadpool to sacrifice the R-rated humor and violence simply to join up with the MCU. Undoubtedly, the R rating of 2016's Deadpool helped allow the filmmakers to bring a comics-accurate version of Wade Wilson to the big screen. However, there are also sure to be fans who wouldn't mind filmmakers toning down Deadpool's schtick for the opportunity of seeing the Merc with a Mouth team up with the Avengers and/or Spider-Man. For now, until the Disney-Fox deal closes and Marvel Studios makes their plans clear to fans, we'll have to wait and see what becomes of Reynolds' Deadpool.
Next: How To Introduce Mutants To The MCU (Without Breaking The Continuity)
Source: Ryan Reynolds/Twitter