Deadpool and Wolverine’s Hard R-Rating Let Ryan Reynolds “Do Anything and Everything”

Disney is committed to making Deadpool and Wolverine an R-rated adult spectacle, and that’s made Ryan Reynolds “very surprised.”

“I hope it doesn’t sound condescending,” Reynolds tells Fandango in the video below. “I’m really proud of them for doing this. I think it’s a huge step for them. I mean, it adds a whole other color to this kaleidoscopic wheel that is that company and the different people that they have been entertaining forever. I was surprised though, that they let us go as hard R, but very grateful. I mean there’s no other way to do it.”

The first two Deadpool movies were also R-rated, but they were made by 20th Century Studios. Deadpool and Wolverine is a Disney production, and as a result, many expected a sanding down of the rough edges. From the looks of the raunchy trailers, however, they’ve gone even harder.

Those earlier films also grossed roughly $780 million each at the worldwide box office, so the adult humor is clearly a winning formula. “[The R rating] really [allowed] us to do anything and everything in a world where anything and everything is possible,” Reynolds added.

Deadpool and Wolverine is the first R-rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it won’t be the last. Blade was given an R rating for strong violence, as the film’s director Yann Demange revealed in November 2023.

Deadpool and Wolverine hits theaters July 26.