Deadpool 3’s R-Rating Makes Wolverine’s MCU Introduction Even More Exciting

Fan favorite member of the X-Men Wolverine is slated to make a major comeback when he returns to the big screen in Deadpool 3, and one unique fact about the movie makes his return all the more exciting. Starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular foul-mouthed, fourth-wall-breaking mutant, Deadpool 3 will not only be Deadpool’s official introduction to the MCU, it will also be the only MCU movie to premiere in 2024. Its story will likely focus on Deadpool traveling across the multiverse, as the end of Deadpool 2 revealed that he gained access to time travel, and its end credits showed him jumping around different timelines to clean them up.

Deadpool traveling to alternate timelines likely puts him into contact with Wolverine, who is expected to play a major role in the movie. Wolverine’s return to the big screen is exciting for a number of reasons, including that Jackman’s time in the role seemed to be over after Logan. Fortunately, all signs point to Deadpool 3‘s R-rated story justifying one more Jackman appearance.

Deadpool 3’s Wolverine Introduction Can Show The Full Extent Of His Skills

Deadpool 3 will make history as the first MCU movie with an R-rating, and this major achievement for the franchise makes Wolverine’s introduction to the MCU even more exciting. Though the MCU has previously delivered some shocking and violent deaths, they’ve all had to fit within the allowances of a PG-13 rating. Logan and Deadpool broke ground as R-rated non-MCU Marvel projects, and the fact that Deadpool 3 will continue that tradition makes it likely Wolverine will cause some serious carnage.

An aged Wolverine was able to showcase a more violent side in Logan, though it’ll be exciting to see why the character is “the best at what he does.” Particularly, Wolverine and Deadpool’s respective mutant abilities set them up for a (perhaps comically) violent showdown should the two turn their blades on each other. Both have a strong regenerative healing factor, meaning they can come back from wounds that would kill almost anyone else.

How Deadpool 3’s R-Rating Helps MCU’s Official X-Men Intro

Deadpool 3’s R-rating is also very beneficial for the X-Men’s introduction to the MCU at large, as it will allow audiences to refamiliarize themselves with just how much of a threat mutants are. Even if the rest of the X-Men are introduced in PG-13 projects, which seems likely, kicking them off with something more violent sets precedence and establishes their potentially overwhelming power. Moreover, this can drive home the difference between the X-Men and the Avengers. While both franchises have had their gory moments, the R-rated Deadpool 3 can kick off the team’s formal introduction with a shift in tone.

Of course, even if an increase in violence for the X-Men is limited to Deadpool and Wolverine, it’s nice that these two historically visceral heroes get at least one movie in which to go all-out together. In fact, given the MCU’s X-Men movie will almost surely fit the style of the rest of the cinematic universe, the dramatic shift in tone can accentuate the end of the Fox movie universe and their formal transition to Marvel. Regardless of what the future holds, it’ll be exciting to see Wade and Logan duke it out with either each other or their enemies in Deadpool 3.