Marvel Targets New Audience With R-Rated Movies. It Won’t Work

Published: July 19, 2024

Marvel Targets New Audience With R-Rated Movies. It Won’t Work

By Movieguide® Contributor

The upcoming DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE movie received an R-rating, making it the first in the MCU to be appropriate for adults only, a route that Marvel seems more willing to embrace in recent years.

While the previous DEADPOOL movies were rated R for their extreme violence, language and lewd content, they were not officially part of the MCU. DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, however, is different as its introduction of the X-Men character puts it within the franchise.

Throughout its rise to the top of Hollywood, Marvel has kept its content available to teens by shooting for, at the most, a PG-13 rating on its projects. During the original AVENGERS movie, the scene where Agent Coulson is killed had to be reshot as its original, more violent take led to an R rating. The reshoot dropped it to PG-13.

In recent years, however, Marvel has been more willing to push the envelope and cater to a more mature audience. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, for example, which was released last year, featured the franchise’s first utterance of the “f” word. With only one use of it, though, it was able to maintain a PG-13 rating.

Earlier this year, Marvel’s boundary pushing went a step further when the Disney+ original ECHO received a TV-MA rating for excessive violence, a first for the franchise. Its upcoming series MARVEL ZOMBIES is expected to do the same.

While some may view Marvel’s willingness to create R-rated content as a sign of a maturing audience, it’s actually a sign that the franchise is floundering to find its audience.

The completion of the Thanos saga was always going to come with a drop in viewership, however, the company’s approach to content since 2019 has proven to be too much for all but the most diehard fans. Five years later, as Marvel’s relevancy is at an all-time low, the studio is now grasping at straws to reconnect with a large audience. It is clear it has subscribed to Hollywood’s lie that audiences want more sex, violence and overall inappropriate behavior.

This, however, is not the case. Study after study has shown that even teenage audiences prefer uplifting stories with characters who have lives like their own over the immoral content Hollywood has pushed for years.

It is sad to see a great franchise fall down this path, especially after Marvel announced it had recently reconsidered its strategy since its decline from 2019. Instead, the studio would do well to return to its roots and recommit itself to creating uplifting stories that the entire family can enjoy.

Movieguide® previously reported:

Hey Disney,

Seriously, what’s the deal? Your wholesome brand is tarnished by the hits of gore and violence in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. Even the trailer’s a bloodbath, packed with language that would make Mickey blush. And let’s not forget the hardcore drug references. Do better, Disney.

Remember when Disney CEO Bob Iger swore to keep Disney+ family-friendly? Then they got greedy after turning a small profit, dropping TV-MA content like it’s hot. Unsuspecting children tuned in to be hit with grittier Marvel shows and R-rated movies like DEADPOOL and WOLVERINE.

It was a $4 billion mistake. Yep, billion with a B.

Iger himself said, “As we got into the streaming business in a very, very aggressive way, we tried to tell too many stories. Basically we invested too much, way ahead of possible returns. It’s what led to streaming ending up as a $4 billion loss.”

Read. That. Again.

Disney lost $4 BILLION, and they’re still pushing DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE down our throats, trashing family values like it’s a sport.

Critics aren’t biting either. Our reviews of the previous movies indicate they’re a redemption-free zone.