Summary

New
Deadpool & Wolverine
PSA may screen before cinemas, featuring spoilers and bleeped F-Bombs.
Marvel Studios embraces
Deadpool & Wolverine
‘s R-rating, breaking MCU norms. Fans worried about toning down, but Disney is embracing mature programming.

Deadpool & Wolverine
will change the MCU with their first R-rated movie and overt fourth-wall breaks.

While Deadpool quips and kills his way through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has an important message for audiences… turn off your damn phones (although his version is likely filled with far more profanity). Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters this July and, along with a plethora of other marketing tricks – including an adult popcorn bucket inspired by Dune 2 – a new PSA about cell-phone use in cinemas could play before screenings.

This new PSA was screened at CinemaCon (via THR) in Las Vegas during the Deadpool & Wolverine showcase. Reportedly inspired by the famous Nicole Kidman “We Make Movies Better!” ad for AMC Theatres, Deadpool’s version features the iconic Merc-with-the-Mouth and Wolverine’s Marvel-themed conversation interrupted by ringing phones. THR reported that the video saw Deadpool and Wolverine discussing fan theories about Avengers: Secret Wars – the next slated Avengers film. However, each time Deadpool gets near spoiler territory, a cell-phone rings from an obnoxious theater-goer.

The interruptions lead Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to lose his temper and drop a Deadpool-inspired litany of bleeped F-Bombs at the camera, until Deadpool calms him down. THR’s sources believe the PSA will be shown in theaters this summer. However, the Marvel/Deadpool team have yet to publicly confirm this. If it does, it will likely depend on the age rating of the film being shown. Don’t expect Wolverine to start swearing before a screening of Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Marvel Studios is Embracing Deadpool & Wolverine’s R-Rating

Uncensored, uncontrolled swearing is nothing new for Deadpool, or its actor Ryan Reynolds, but it is for Marvel Studios. Deadpool & Wolverine will make history as the first R-Rated movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also appears that Marvel Studios is embracing this during presentations of the film. During Deadpool & Wolverine’s presentation at CinemaCon, Marvel Studios chief, Kevin Feige, uncharacteristically declared “Deadpool & Wolverine is f*cking awesome! And the reason I can say that … is that it’s an R-rated movie.”

When Deadpool & Wolverine was first announced as being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, fans were concerned that the House of Mouse would tone down the profanity and vulgarity that made Reynolds’ Deadpool films so successful. Disney established itself as an entertainment powerhouse through its family-friendly animated classics. However, Disney has been embracing mature programming recently. New adverts for Disney+ accentuate its selection of mature-themed shows and movies, including The Bear, Shogun, and Under the Banner of Heaven.

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It’s safe to say that Deadpool & Wolverine will fundamentally change the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only will it be the first R-Rated movie in the MCU, it will also feature the most overt fourth-wall breaks the franchise has seen to date. Characters have broken the fourth-wall before in the MCU, like Baby Groot running into the camera in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Wanda Maximoff looking directly at the camera in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and, of course, She-Hulk’s comments directly to audiences but none have done it like Deadpool. In the first trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, the anti-hero even declares himself as “Marvel Jesus!”

Deadpool & Wolverine
, potentially with its new PSA, releases in theaters on July 26, 2024.