Will Deadpool 3 Be R-Rated Now That Disney Is Involved? Here's What We Know

This week, the first images dropped of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in the upcoming "Deadpool 3," an appearance that has been a decade in the making. Not only is it exciting to see ol' Logan finally hanging out with Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) on screen, but "Deadpool 3" is also the first of the trilogy to be included under the umbrella of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is being directed by Shawn Levy ("Free Guy," "The Adam Project") from a script by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Reynolds, and Levy, and will also showcase the return of Jennifer Garner's Elektra after 20 years. 

The film is presumed to be the first R-rated film in the MCU — that is, as long as things continue to go according to plan. As "Deadpool 3" is still in production, the MPA (Motion Picture Association, formerly MPAA) has not yet given an official audience rating for the film, but those working on it don't seem to believe there should be any fears about whether or not the third "Deadpool" flick will lose sight of its trademarks: excessive violence, sexual situations, adult humor, and non-stop strong language.

Here's what we know regarding the rating of "Deadpool 3."

Fortunately, part of Disney's acquisition of Fox was continuing to keep 20th Century Studios as a separate brand, which would allow for R-rated projects. This means that although "Deadpool 3" will be part of the MCU, the film will not follow the same rating requirements. The film's co-writer spoke with The Playlist about the film's rating to assure everyone that there will be no watering down the material. "It's these [Disney] people and these people do things their way," said Rhett Reese. "And we were used to doing things our way, so there are differences, but I think the great part is that Marvel's been incredibly supportive." He continued, "They are gonna let Deadpool be Deadpool, you know? It's not like any particular joke may be the one that they say, 'You know, that's too far,' that could happen, but to this point, it's been nothing but support."

In a delightful surprise, Reese said that the Disney/Marvel folks have been extremely open to collaboration, offering elements from the established MCU if need be. "We're not ... this is not going to be the Disney-fied Deadpool,'" Reese said. "So they're awesome, and now it's up to us to come through and justify that faith." Reese also tackled the R-rating debate directly and has no doubt that the film will continue the trend of the first two films. "Oh, absolutely. They're not gonna mess with the tone. I mean, I'd never say never, I guess there's an outside chance, but we've always been told it can be R and we're proceeding as if it's R," he said. "We would like it to be R, we always have, so I don't think that'll change."

Karan Soni, who recently voiced Pavitr Prabhakar/Spider-Man India in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" and has played Dopinder in all three "Deadpool" films, mentioned in an interview with Comic Book that "Deadpool 3" will certainly be R-rated and that the Disney oversight hasn't actually changed the production style of these films. "I have begun working on that one, so I can say that it is the same as the other two," Soni said. "It's like hard R." Considering the film is currently shooting at Pinewood Studios in the U.K., it would be pretty easy to determine the rating based on violence and language alone. There's only so much you can edit out to earn a PG-13 rating, save for AI editing like what happened with the survival horror film, "Fall." Ryan Reynolds also can't improvise on set as a member of the Writers Guild of America amid the ongoing strike, which means there isn't even any wiggle room for him to give an alternate take with new phrasing if a particularly R-rated joke needed to be toned down.

According to Soni, the only real difference between making a "Deadpool" film under the MCU banner is the increased level of secrecy. "The only thing that, for me, is different is that I have not gotten the script this time," he said. "The other two, we did get it, it's a big difference, at least for me, the MCU part of it vs. the Fox/Marvel part of it. They're so strict. So I've only seen glimpses of what I'm in."

Another concern many fans have had is in regard to the inevitable arrival of "Deadpool 3" on Disney+. Upon the launch of the streamer, some films and TV series were edited from their original versions to appease censorship content rules. For example, the most memorable line in "Adventures in Babysitting" was modified from "Don't f*** with the babysitter" to "Don't fool with the babysitter," and Darryl Hannah's body in "Splash" was digitally edited to censor moments of nudity. However, following the introduction of parental controls on March 16, 2022, Disney+ now has R-rated material on the streaming platform. The first R-rated movies to stream on Disney+ in the United States were "Deadpool" and "Logan." The hilarious irony, of course, is that both of the characters in these films will be teaming up for "Deadpool 3." 

All of this is to say that if you're the type of person who wants (or needs) to wait to catch a film on streaming, "Deadpool 3" will presumably arrive in all its raunchy, raucous glory.

"Deadpool 3" currently has a theatrical release date of May 3, 2024.