Disney is bringing a trio of R-rated Marvel superhero movies to Disney Plus. At San Diego Comic-Con, the company announced that Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan — three Marvel movies released by 20th Century Fox — will all be available to stream on Disney Plus in the U.S. starting July 22.
That’s a significant change in policy for Disney, which has generally limited its Disney Plus content stateside to PG-13 and TV-MA-rated fare. In March, Disney added new parental controls to Disney Plus that would permit R-rated and TV-MA content, which paved the way for Netflix’s Marvel shows, including the graphically violent Daredevil and The Punisher, to stream on the platform.
Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan are unquestionably violent, and those movies have no shortage of salty language and other adult content, but Disney seems open to relaxing its stance on releasing strictly all-ages content. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that the next Deadpool movie coming from Disney will be R-rated, and upcoming fare like Blade could be too.
Disney has tested R-rated content for Disney Plus in other territories. The streamer brought 2001 Jet Li action movie Kiss of the Dragon to Canadian subscribers of Disney Plus earlier this year, and other territories include R-rated content as part of a combined Disney Plus and Hulu catalog.
In a news release, Disney encouraged subscribers to “revisit their parental controls settings to ensure a viewing experience most suitable for them and their family.”
Disney Plus subscribers who haven’t yet seen the R-rated side of Marvel are in for a treat, though. The Ryan Reynolds-starring Deadpool movies are great fun, and their graphic violence is served with an over-the-top comedic twist. The original Deadpool from 2016 tells the origin story of anti-hero mercenary Wade Wilson on a mission of revenge. Deadpool 2, released in 2018, draws further from Marvel’s X-Men universe, bringing in allies like Domino (Zazie Beetz) and adversaries like Cable (Josh Brolin).
Logan, released in 2017, is decidedly less … fun. In James Mangold’s adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Old Man Logan, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) cares for both an ailing Professor X and a young new mutant with a mysterious past. It’s a fitting, but grueling sendoff for Jackman’s version of the character.