Every couple of years, there’s a superhero movie that serves as a blueprint on what to do (or, in some cases, not) for others going forward. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Batman Begins, and The Avengers are all part of that lineup, as is Deadpool, whose success can be owed to its title character’s first cinematic outing.
A fan-favorite Marvel Comics character for decades, X-Men Origins: Wolverine killed any dreams to see him on the big screen more than once, and if he ever did appear again, it seemed unlikely that Ryan Reynolds would come back for seconds. But between that and Green Lantern, the actor felt he needed some superheroic image rehab; hence, he and director Tim Miller shot test footage for a more faithful and R-rated spin on the Merc With a Mouth.
One, ahem, accidental leak later, the first Deadpool hit theaters on February 12, 2016. In a year with major superhero flicks headlined by Captain America, Superman, and Doctor Strange, this one stood out for being fun in a raunchy, vulgar, and gleefully comedic way other movies didn’t provide. All MCU films have a zinger now and again, but Deadpool distinctly had comedy in its bones and never let up on the laughs while the classic supes action got to take a back seat for much of the runtime. That formula made it a critical and commercial success, keeping the X-Men films going a little bit longer and also helping push edgier, less family-friendly superheroes into the mainstream.
Compared to their PG and PG-13 siblings, who get multiple releases per year, R-rated cape films don’t always get the chance to build an audience that would rush out to see them. Deadpool’s existence has allowed for more adult-oriented superhero fare like The Boys, Invincible, and Logan to gain prominence, each of them with their own amount of sex, violence, and grit. It’s that last one that matters most here: even when The Boys gets goofy through a prurient joke or someone dying in a funny way, it’s still a pretty dark show with cutting jabs at its genre and American culture.
Conversely, Wade Wilson has never not mugged the camera or functioned like anything but a human (well, mutant) Looney Tune, as more grounded events and characters occupy the space around him, simultaneously clashing against and slotting into his chaotic vibes in the blink of an eye. The comic timing of Reynolds and whoever his costar is at that particular moment, if not the entire movie, really does count for a lot. Whether you’re all in on this particular franchise or think it’s kind of all over the place, it lives and dies on its comedy, and giving him different co-leads in each film for him to “odd couple” it up with—from Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead to Domino, Cable, and Wolverine—is the smartest (and really, the only) creative decision to make with this particular character.
Deadpool’s brand of humor can be fun when it works, but when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. It’s hard to argue these films haven’t contributed to some of the backlash towards humor in similar movies and the MCU at large. When everyone’s trying to be funny in the same way, no one’s funny, and there’ve been many wise guys across many mediums in the past decade who’ve tried doing jokes the Deadpool way. (Some of them were even directed by Deadpool 2 director David Leitch, which probably didn’t help things.) What also hasn’t helped is Reynolds taking Wade’s chatty, improv-style snark with him anywhere he went. Whether it’s main roles or cameos, in live-action or animation, he’s basically become the character, in turn inviting discussions of whether he’s a limited instrument or just very good at letting himself be a brand to keep himself employed.
And yet, that snark overload hasn’t really stopped people from loving Deadpool: his third movie was one of 2024’s biggest films due to several factors, including being the first R-rated MCU movie and bringing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (and some other guys) back into the cinematic fold. In games, the merc’s recently joined Marvel Rivals and headlined a solo VR title, and he’s maintained a steady comics presence that’s paired him with Wolverine and Batman and given him a daughter he now shares his codename with. However he manifests in future movies, he will undoubtedly be around until he’s served his purpose or Ryan Reynolds can’t do the voice or the makeup anymore.
Reynolds’ curation of Deadpool as a way to restabilize and then further his career is the whole reason the character’s even around, but there’ll be a point where he steps down. When that day comes, what kind of send-off awaits his tenure, and will the audience fully accept it? Marvel’s own track record and the “’til you’re 90” joke ensure there’ll be a lot of skepticism around his eventual retirement (at least until his heart stops), and maybe they’ll relegate the character to animation, where this issue can be put off. But whether it’s a genuine up-and-comer or a known name, we’ll eventually get another Deadpool. And whoever that ends up being will have some shoes to fill and is likely to still make us laugh, even if they need to find a new angle.
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