Goodbye, Deadpool: Disney Confirms End of Controversial Superhero

Disney has confirmed an end date for Deadpool.

It’s been a long time coming, but Deadpool is officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) – the third installment in the franchise – premiered in July and has already raked in $590.6 million at the box office, setting it on track to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

If you haven’t seen the film yet, we’ll try to go light on spoilers. However, there’s a reason why the film has gone down so well with both critics and fans. Thanks to a multitude of cameos and 20th Century Fox references, Deadpool & Wolverine is a magnificent tribute to the Fox Marvel universe and the heroes whose stories ended far too soon.

It also doesn’t hurt that the film marks Hugh Jackman’s grand return as Wolverine – a character many assumed dead and buried (literally) after Logan (2017), which Jackman insisted was his final outing as the clawed superhero.

His return in Deadpool & Wolverine makes sense in context and also manages not to ruin the legacy of the character’s noble sacrifice in Logan. Most importantly, it gives Jackman and Ryan Reynolds an opportunity to star in the buddy film they’ve wanted to make for years. (Well, that Reynolds has longed to make, at least).

As their first film in the MCU, it was only fitting that Disney followed its typical path of promoting the film in its theme parks. In July, Deadpool was introduced as a walkaround character in Avengers Campus at both Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris and Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland Resort (where he was also joined by Wolverine).

Deadpool is the first character from an R-rated project to appear in a Disney theme park, so it should come as no surprise that there’s been some backlash to his debut. Some parents have taken his appearance as proof that Disney is trying to foist the explicit franchise upon their children, while others have taken issue with some of the more adult jokes the character has made in the park.

While family-friendly jokes have included Deadpool mocking Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU, this time as Doctor Doom (as was announced at San Diego Comic-Con), others have included him joking about finding Grindr – a gay dating app – on Tony Stark’s phone.

“What do we have here?” Deadpool says during an appearance at California Adventure. “We’ve got the Disney Parks app. We’ve got Instagram, TikTok, Tinder, Grindr. Wow, Mr Stark, I love your new profile picture.”

Another video shared online shows Deadpool claiming that Wolverine is “obviously the bottom” in their relationship during Story Time With Deadpool, also at the Anaheim theme park.

Deadpool is making Grindr jokes in Disney California Adventure. For anyone who was worried he’d be too PG in the parks.

Deadpool is making Grindr jokes in Disney California Adventure. For anyone who was worried he’d be too PG in the parks.

????: @finding_denny pic.twitter.com/cY69IhxW70

— Matt DH ???? D23 Expo (@DisneyScoopGuy) July 29, 2024

For some, this was the tipping point. Some outraged guests took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to complain about Deadpool’s extremely “un-Disney” jokes in the park.

“I love the character and his humor, but it doesn’t belong in the Disney parks,” said @whoismrzero.

“They’re just flailing at this point, hoping anything lands,” complained @RCDad92. “They have no principles anymore.”

Meanwhile, @GuruOfGroove wrote: “It’s not the conversation with Walt that’s the problem. It’s the conversation with your kids. Disney went from being the most trusted family brand to sex obsessed perverts in the blink of eye.”

As many rightly pointed out, however, Deadpool also jokes about Tinder in the same sentence as Grindr – and yet very few online critics took issue with that reference. “All the internalized homophobia in this comment section,” said @itsjusthim4u. “Y’all don’t have a problem with tinder but GRINDR y’all do have a problem with when both apps can be used for the same reason. Also it isn’t Deadpool’s first grindr joke (deadpool 2) y’all get a grip or a sense of humor.”

Disney’s no stranger to adult-oriented jokes, with a handful of quips in Pixar movies that are clearly aimed at older audiences going over the heads of younger viewers. The same is likely true in this scenario. “Growing up there has ALWAYS been adult humor in shows/movies for kids,” said @NoahsNotions. “It’s the job of the parent to explain or not explain those things as to when and if they feel their child is ready or should know. It’s not that hard to comprehend. Just say ‘don’t worrry about it’ YW.”

Whether you’re for or against these kinds of jokes from Deadpool, the reality is that you won’t have to hear them for long. While Deadpool’s appearances were always framed as a limited offering, we now have a confirmed exit date for the “merc with a mouth” – at least from Walt Disney Studios Park.

Deadpool’s last day at the theme park (soon to be renamed Disney Adventure World) will be September 15, 2024. For now, there’s no update on when he’ll exit California Adventure, but we’ll keep you updated.

If you do get a chance to catch Deadpool at Walt Disney Studios Park before his exit, you may be surprised to discover that Disney has reined in several elements of the character (even if that doesn’t cover the jokes). To keep things family-friendly, his guns have been replaced with baguettes.

Have you seen Deadpool & Wolverine yet?