The Pool is Open

Marvel's Deadpool vision will make the X-Men icon's fans very happy

Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige says the words that fans have longed to hear.

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Better stock up on the chimichangas, Marvel Cinematic Universe: Deadpool is very much on his way, and the Merc with the Mouth is hungry.

Appearing at Disney+'s first-ever Television Critics Association panel, Marvel Studios' very own Kevin Feige went deep on the brand's plans to expand the MCU into the streaming ecosystem. While the majority of the conversation surrounded projects like WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (premiering March 19) and the ways in which the company will continue telling stories through its signature tone and storytelling aesthetic, an intriguing side note about Ryan Reynolds' trigger-happy antihero made its way into the discourse. Here's what you need to know.

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When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox two years ago, questions quickly emerged regarding the future of the R-rated Deadpool franchise and how it might fit alongside the greater (and less vulgar) MCU. Will Wade Wilson end up stifled now that the Mouse House owns the rights? Some version of that question echoed throughout the fandom — and at TCA, Feige addressed it.

"I think we target everything we're doing now for kids and adults," said the Marvel Studios head. "Other than Deadpool, which has already established itself as a certain genre and a certain rating that we've already said we would not mess with when we start working with Deadpool — which we have — other than that, we've not encountered a story, or storyline, or a character's journey that a PG-13 or the tone we've been using up to this point has prevented us. We've never been held back by it."

Wade Wilson's war on decency will continue in the MCU.

That's about all Feige had to say about Deadpool — and honestly, it's all he needed to say. Feige's "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality toward Deadpool here makes complete sense, not just on a continuity and storytelling level, but on a profit level as well. Let's remember, the first two Deadpool movies raked it in at the box office, marking them as the first R-rated comic book franchise to earn $1.6 billion worldwide. Wisely, it sounds like Feige doesn't want to change the recipe.

About that Evan Peters WandaVision cameo...

Outside of what's next for the family-unfriendly Deadpool, Feige went into detail about the once and future Disney+ series, including reigning water-cooler warrior WandaVision — a series that actually does have some links to Deadpool right now, however thin. Enter: Evan Peters, the Quicksilver of Fox's X-Men franchise, who surprised everyone by appearing as Uncle Pietro in Episode 5 of WandaVision. On Peters' arrival, fans swarmed online to pick apart the moment and try to figure out what this means for the future of X-Men under the Marvel banner.

As far as the MCU's X-Men plan, Feige held a lot of details under his signature hat, as he usually does. But he did give us some insight into the decision to place Peters' Quicksilver into the Disney+ series, saying it was early on in the story development process that the writers came to the conclusion he had to be there.

Does Quicksilver's arrival indicate a bigger plan here for future crossovers? That remains to be seen, really. As Feige puts it, "[It's] just another way that certain people were messing around with Wanda." And by certain people, we can assume he's talking about Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness; it was "Agatha all along," wasn't it?

Deadpool's fellow Fox veteran Quicksilver already exists in the MCU, and look at him! He's doing great!

Daredevil in the MCU?

Fox's X-Men history isn't the only catalog at Marvel's disposal, of course. There are also the previous TV efforts allegedly connected to the MCU, such as the Netflix shows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, as well as ABC's Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. While fans have been champing at the bit for more of each, Feige gave a cautious, guarded answer regarding what the future may hold for each of these projects. Will we ever see any of these heroes make an appearance on Disney+, following their runs on Netflix and ABC?

"I'm not sure," said Feige. "There are always rumors online about [rights] reverting. Sometimes it's true and sometimes it's not. And I'm not exactly sure of the exact contracts. But, perhaps someday."

For certain, "someday" is better than nothing — and if Marvel can find a way to make the foul-mouthed Deadpool exist comfortably within the MCU, maybe the Netflix shows aren't far behind. Indeed, according to certain Spider-Man: No Way Home rumors, at least one Netflix hero may be just around the corner ... but that's a multiversal trip for another time.

Follow all of Inverse's WandaVision coverage at our WandaVision hub.

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