A [MARKET.] FOR DEADPOOL?

 
I have been waiting for the Deadpool movie ever since X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released and the rumor mill started that Ryan Reynolds was going to be attached. Now, we finally have a release date on February 12th, 2016 and the director Tim Miller is still attached. Now, there are still some open questions lingering regarding the upcoming film, as Reynolds has not signed a contract, some say that they will still attach the original draft that was written for the film, but it is still a question if it will be PG-13 or R-rated. Naturally the character is rather known for being a hard R, which would be fitting for the character, but it is more a question on how big the audience is suppose to be fort he film. This entire conflict is the reason you are reading this article at the moment, as I ask the questions: Is there really a market for Deadpool?
 

To examine this aspect, it would be nice to note that this questions is quite dependent on what final decision  20^th Century Fox makes on what the rating they chose. One has to point out that PG-13 and R are distinguished between how much violence, sex and cursing are used in a film. I will point out that it is just a simple description of what the differences are, but PG-13 on its own right has become quite violent, so that the use of massive amounts of blood lead to the R rating. Well, with an R-rating only an audience above the age of 18 can be reached, so the film would try to bank on a more crud humor in the combination with the violence. The issue lies that R-rated action films have been facing trouble recently, as Dredd for example was not able to make its money back even if it created a very strong fanbase. So, executives at Fox would be rather worried that the film would not be able to sell and reach an audience. Even if it develops a fanbase their main goal is to have a return on investment.
 
Would a PG-13 solve that problem? In a way it would allow the film to reach a much wider audience while limiting the film what exactly they can show. With that there won’t be any swearing and Deadpool might be much tamer in this version. Naturally, the writers might find a way around it, as the Hobbit, which was also rated PG-13 actually showed Gandalf decapitating a goblin. With that there is the question if it only works with other worldly creatures, but the question remains how effectively they can portray the violence. Would it be more effective even without the blood?
 

If you want to market or sell a film you still need to consider who exactly is the target audience this film could reach. Thanks to the leaks and twitter campaign we know that there is an audience, but another questions remains if it is wide enough to ensure the films success. Even if the Internet is filled with a mass audience, which loves and cares for the source material, it is a small margin if you compare it to the everyday filmgoer. Comparing it to other films, action films with R-ratings have been facing some problems while PG-13 are doing considerably better. Films like the Hobbit, Marvel Studios productions and Man of Steel, to give a few examples, have been doing quite well in the box office, but Deadpool is a very unique character. He isn’t an actual hero so there will be a problem to see if the audience can connect. If you consider it though, Deadpool is a comedy and self-aware character, which lends to a lot of humorous moments, so why not sell it as such. R-rated comedies have found their footing since the first Hangover came out, and they are still making considerable amount of money, if one looks at this year’s Neighbors. It lends itself to that genre and if sold that way, the numbers prove there is an audience. The film will probably bank more on males at the age of 18 and up, but with characters like Blind Al, they could also raise the interest of female viewers.

In the end, is there a market for Deadpool? If they are strategic enough in the marketing department and sell it as an R-rated comedy we could find an audience and appease the fans. I personally would love to see him in a hard R film, I do think they have to make a limit on how far they can go and a well-written script will always find an audience, in cinemas or in the home market. With that, what are your thoughts? Do you think Deadpool can be marketed? What do you want to s