The Deadpool effect is.... err, in effect. Days after The Merc With A Mouth's solo movie obliterated tons of box office records, including the biggest-ever opening for an X-Men movie, Fox is taking a long, hard think about its future mutant outings. No-one could have predicted that an R-rated comic book movie would net $150 million in its opening weekend. Now that it's happened? Well, it looks as if the X-Force movie that Ryan Reynolds says is "a priority" might receive the same treatment.
During a post-screening Q&A, X-Men and Deadpool producer Simon Kinberg said that he could see changes in the X-Men universe as a result of Deadpool's success. “I think there are some stories that could be R-rated. I don’t know what they are, I mean I think the mainline X-Men movies have their own tone, which is a more operatic tone. It’s more dramatic, it is more PG-13 in a way. X-Force I could see being R-rated, and who knows?”
Before you get excited, Kinberg does make it clear that none of this is set in stone. “I’m saying I could imagine a universe in which [X-Force is R-rated].” Still, if the X-Force movie were to progress past the development stage then it makes sense for it to have an R because of its ties to Deadpool. And because the chatty, sweary mercenary is a part of X-Force, appearing alongside the likes of Colossus, Psylocke, Cyclops, Archangel, Cable and Wolverine.
Speaking of the adamantium-clawed one, word on The Wolverine 3 seems to suggest that the final Wolvie movie is now targeting an R-rating. A Reddit user who attended Fox's Toy Fair 2016 presentation spotted a promo image for the movie including details of its "anticipated rating." The Wolverine was edited down from an R to a PG-13, with its more adult content saved for the home video release, so this move isn't entirely opportunistic. In light of Deadpool's mould-breaking success, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine could finally go out in a blaze of blood and bad language. Nice one, bub.
Directed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller and Gina Carano, Deadpool is playing now in theaters worldwide. The Wolverine 3 opens in the UK on March 2, 2017 and the US a day later.
Images: Fox, DC
