Disney won’t duct tape Deadpool’s R-rated potty mouth, says Iger

Rest easy, Deadpool fans. Regardless of whether he’s living in Fox’s zip code or getting new digs over in Disney’s neck of the woods, the mouthy merc can keep right on cursing — so you won’t have to.

Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed today that the Marvel maverick’s upcoming date with the Mouse House won’t be spoiled by Disney’s brand of family-friendly wholesomeness. Rolling some of Fox’s edgier, R-rated content into the Disney fold shouldn’t be a problem, he told reporters — so long as audiences are duly prepared for what he might say.

"It [Deadpool] clearly has been and will be Marvel branded,” Iger said in a call with media, via The Hollywood Reporter. “But we think there might be an opportunity for a Marvel-R brand for something like Deadpool. As long as we let the audiences know what's coming, we think we can manage that fine.”

Helping Deadpool’s case, no doubt, is his power to bring home the dollars. The first Deadpool movie earned more than $783 million at the global box office against a paltry production budget of only $58 million, and last year’s second installment turned out to be the perfect encore, amassing nearly $786 million worldwide against a stepped-up, but still smartly invested, production budget of $110 million.

By extension, Iger’s comments on Ryan Reynolds’ star franchise may give some reassurance to fans of other Fox properties — from the rest of the X-Men universe to creepy TV fare like American Horror Story — that Disney is willing to let all the established brands it’s inheriting retain the unique qualities that earned them a following in the first place. The Disney-Fox merger is in its final stages, following a long and hand-wringing process (for fans as much as anyone) that all began in December of 2017.

While we wait for Mickey to greet his new guests (even the wild ones), Deadpool remains the gift that keeps on giving. Catch up with the X-Force’s fearless leader in Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Once Upon a Deadpool — all available via your favorite digital platform.