Disney is bringing a trio of R-rated Marvel superhero movies to Disney Plus. At San Diego Comic-Con, the company announced that Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and Logan, three Marvel films released by 20th Century Fox, will be available to stream on Disney Plus in the US starting July 22 .
This is a major change in policy for Disney, which has generally limited its Disney Plus content in the US to PG-13 and TV-MA fare. In March, Disney added new parental controls to Disney Plus that would allow R-rated and TV-MA content, paving the way for Netflix’s Marvel shows, including the violent Daredevil and The Punisher, to stream on the platform.
Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan are undeniably violent, and those movies have no shortage of salty language and other adult content, but Disney seems open to relaxing its stance on releasing strictly all-ages content. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that the next Deadpool movie coming from Disney will be R-rated, and upcoming fare like Blade could be as well.
Disney has tested R-rated content for Disney Plus in other territories. The streamer brought Jet Li’s 2001 action film Kiss of the Dragon to Canadian Disney Plus subscribers earlier this year, and other territories include R-rated content as part of a combined Disney catalog Plus and Hulu.
In a press release, Disney encouraged subscribers to “review their parental controls settings to ensure a more appropriate viewing experience for them and their family.”
However, Disney Plus subscribers who have yet to see the R-side of Marvel are in for a treat. The Deadpool movies starring Ryan Reynolds are a lot of fun, and their graphic violence is served up with an over-the-top comedic edge. The original 2016 Deadpool tells the origin story of mercenary anti-hero Wade Wilson on a mission of revenge. Deadpool 2, released in 2018, is based more on Marvel’s X-Men universe, bringing in allies like Domino (Zazie Beetz) and adversaries like Cable (Josh Brolin).
Logan, released in 2017, is decidedly less… fun. In James Mangold’s adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Old Man Logan, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) takes care of both an ailing Professor X and a young new mutant with a mysterious past. It’s a fitting, but exhausting, send-off for Jackman’s version of the character.