Graphic violence, foul language, and occasional nudity are not typically found in an average superhero movie. However, with the release of Deadpool, the standard that Marvel usually places on their movies was demolished. The wild success of Deadpool is largely due to its polarizing vulgar content. Deadpool is a pioneer that many future superhero movies and shows will attempt to recreate.
Deadpool is not the first R-rated superhero movie. There have actually been numerous R-rated superhero movies including Watchmen and Dredd. The difference with Deadpool is that Deadpool is wildly successful. One of the factors that led to the film’s success was that the casting director cast a massive star, Ryan Reynolds, to head the movie. While Reynolds did also star in the widely disliked Green Lantern movie, the casting decision ended up being very beneficial. Reynolds’s personality is similar to Deadpool’s, so developing the character was easy.
The biggest cause of the film’s success, however, was comedy. The black comedy was skillfully established in the first scene where Deadpool breaks the fourth wall for the first of many times, so right away viewers knew this was not a movie for children. Throughout the film, the writers utilized a lot of meta humor, even poking fun at Reynolds himself. No joke was “off limits”. The film writers realized the comedic potential, making it the funniest yet in Marvel’s franchise. Deadpool’s winning superhero formula relied on the success of Reynolds’s performance and the writers’ extensive use of comedy.
While Deadpool is currently Marvel’s only R-rated film, there are other branches of Marvel that share darker tones including Netflix original shows, Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Both of those shows are rated TV-MA, which is essentially the equivalent of an R-rating. Each series was very successful with all audiences. The trend of darker superheroes is recent as both Netflix series were just released in 2015. The public wants more dark, realistic superheroes whether the superheroes are featured on film or television. With the ability to depict nearly everything on screen, directors and writers reward audiences with more believable superhero stories. The combined success of Deadpool and the two Marvel shows will lead to even more movies and shows with R or TV-MA ratings. The studio already greenlit a sequel for Deadpool, so the spread of the material will last.
After only a week at movie theaters, Deadpool brought in $325.4 million worldwide. The success of the movie created a lot of discussion among students at West Ottawa. “The movie is really out there, and it embraces the raunchy nature of the movie completely,” Sr. Connor Panse said. Deadpool is a highlight of many other recent superhero movies because it breaks the expected barrier. “The movie had an unprecedented amount of violence, nudity, and language which caused the movie to stand out against other Marvel movies,” Sr. Marissa Lindstrom said. With an upcoming Deadpool sequel and countless other upcoming superhero movies and shows, Deadpool’s unique brand will be remembered by audiences. “I think there will be more movies like Deadpool, but they won’t be as good since Deadpool was the pioneer,” Lindstrom said.
The R-rating granted Deadpool the opportunity to have more mature material which ended up making the movie a success. The triumph of Deadpool will surely spawn sequels and rip-offs of the movie. Deadpool will undeniably change the future of superhero movies.
