Last year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe ventured into R-rated territory with Deadpool & Wolverine. After making $1.3 billion at the box office, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed that more R-rated projects are on the way.
What is Marvel Studios’ plan regarding R-rated movies and TV-MA shows?
During a recent roundtable discussion, Feige revealed that more R-rated movies will definitely be coming to the MCU following the commercial success of Deadpool & Wolverine, with one caveat. The studio head said that an MCU movie will only receive an R-rating “where appropriate and where necessary,” meaning that Marvel won’t just be handing the mature rating to any old project.
Feige also reaffirmed that R-rated characters like Deadpool could appear in PG-13-rated projects, noting how the Green Goblin can both build snowmen in Disney+’s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and kill Aunt May in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Fans will see this next in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which Feige confirmed will feature Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher. “When Punisher is in the Spider-Man movie, it’ll be a different tonality,” Feige hinted.
The Punisher has so far only appeared in projects that have earned a TV-MA rating (television’s equivalent to the movies’ R-rating) within the MCU. His next two appearances are also expected to fall under that rating: Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and the untitled Punisher special. The latter began shooting last week and will air on Disney+ in 2026.
Disney+ Has the Best Bundle in the Business
Sign-up today for access to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+
Feige was tight-lipped on what the next R-rated MCU movie might look like, although Ryan Reynolds is reportedly working on a fourth Deadpool movie. As reported back in May, Reynolds is writing an X-Men team-up movie, described as “X-Force-style,” that would see his Merc with a Mouth in a supporting role instead of a lead one.
Josh Brolin’s Cable and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine are reportedly on this team, along with Storm, although it’s unclear if the intention is to have Halle Berry reprise the role. Reynolds is developing the project independently from Marvel Studios, which is currently working on an X-Men reboot set within the MCU.
Deadpool & Wolverine is available to stream on Disney+.
