If you’ve watched any of Marvel’s programming on Netflix, you’ll know that the House of Ideas — and in turn, parent company Disney — isn’t afraid of using their intellectual property in adult situations. There’s long been a stigma surrounding Disney that they wouldn’t dare to go into some of the more adult properties so as not to “dirty” the brand.
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Earlier today, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked whether or not the company would consider making any superhero flicks that pushed the boundaries. Without hesitation, the Disney boss confirmed they’d make R-rated superhero flicks if it were clear to the end consumer that the property was not suited for children.
Iger made sure to point out that there’s every possibility the Deadpool franchise could continue under a separate umbrella, so as it distinguishes it from its other all-ages superhero programming.
Naturally, we began to put our heads together and think of what Marvel characters would flourish if they had the chance to push the boundaries while not having to worry about staying within the means of a PG-13 rating. Keep scrolling to see which R-rated movies we think Disney could make under a new imprint!
Are there any Marvel properties you think Disney should dedicate towards an R-rated franchise? Which of the movies on this list would you like to see most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation on Twitter by hitting me (@AdamBarnhardt) up to talk all things MCU!
Moon Knight
As expected, Moon Knight is a natural fit for Marvel Studios to begin expanding their R-rated footprint. First and foremost, the character has to be used in live-action properties in any capacity, so the studio would have absolutely free reign to set the tone of the first film without having to worry about fans comparing it to previous iterations of the film.
Content-wise, the vast majority of the Moon Knight is pretty dark and heavy source material to draw from. Throughout his Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) internal battles to his street-level vigilantism that leaves criminals brutally murdered to sawing the face off of his archnemesis, an R-rated movie would probably good for the character so that he wouldn’t be restrained by a toned-down rating.
Blade & Bloodstone
Blade was one of the first modern-age superhero flicks and fans are chomping at the bit for the Nightstalker to come back to live-action. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dealt with aliens time and time again, they have yet to scratch the surface on the monsters that exist within the large Marvel mythos.
Enter: Blade and Elsa Bloodstone. The two both serve as vampire/monster hunters in the comics and could introduce the masses to yet another genre that we’ve yet to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Blade’s long been a character that Marvel Studios and interested parties have kept an eye on.
In fact, The Punisher showrunner Steve Lightfoot even told ComicBook.com that he’d like to get his hands on the character to help bring him back to live-action.
“I think, again, this is just me, I have zero idea where any of these things are, but I’m a big Blade fan,” Lightfoot reflects. “I would always be excited to see that one done for TV, I think you could do an amazing television version of that.”
Man-Thing & Howard the Duck
Believe it or not, this is the one idea on this list where both of the major players technically already exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While we’ve seen Howard the Duck in the flesh as the character’s had cameo roles in both Guardians movies, Man-Thing has been a much harder character to catch a glimpse of.
We haven’t seen Man-Thing per se, but the character’s face was displayed on a section of the Grandmaster’s tower in Thor: Ragnarok and he was mentioned Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) in “Nothing Personal,” an episode in the first season of Agents of SHIELD.
Coincidentally enough, Howard the Duck’s first comic appearance came in Adventure Into Fear #19 (December 1973), a title which featured Man-Thing in the starring role.
People might think an R-rated Howard the Duck movie is a bit overkill, but just remember — both of the times we’ve seen the character on screen, he found himself in adult scenarios. Even more so when we saw him on the pleasure playground of a planet on Contraxia in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
In terms of a movie, think of buddy cop-style comedy where Theodore “Ted” Sallis/Man-Thing and Howard the Duck are out to solve mundane street-level crimes down in the Bayou. That should be able to provide an ample amount of laughs, right?
Ghost Rider Legacy
Sure, we’ve seen Ghost Rider in two movies and for the better part of one season on Agents of SHIELD a few years ago. But we’ve yet to receive a Marvel Studios version of the cult classic character. If we’re talking about an R-rated movie featuring the character, they’d be able to go the depths the character deserves.
For a movie pitch — I’d start off by introducing the first person to ever wear the mantle, the Ghost Rider of 1,000,000 BC. You wouldn’t need to spend a massive amount of time on him — just enough to get a quick origin of the Spirit of Vengeance.
Fast forward to present day, Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna) finally wants to settle the score and find out the mysterious man who gave him the powers he received in Agents of SHIELD. It’s a far cry to want a guest start on a Marvel TV show to have a lead role in a movie but if there’s a TV star that has the chops, it’s Luna — he is starring in the latest Terminator movie, after all.
The film would then follow Reyes and Johnny Blaze around as they fight crime. Sounds easy enough, right?
The Siblings Hellstrom
There’s probably not a riskier choice on this list than a movie featuring the Hellstrom siblings. For as much of a picture-perfect reputation Disney has — it’d be a peculiar choice for them to produce a live-action movie featuring the literal spawns of Satan, right?
Introduce Daimon and Satana Hellstrom would open up yet another entirely different genre than what Marvel Studios has ever gotten into before. It’d be a little bit of the Blade and Bloodstone movie we talked about earlier mixed in with a little Doctor Strange and probably some street-level Netflix-style shows.
The occult would be something tricky to navigate but perhaps it’d provide for a good movie if the brother and sister duo were trying to escape from Hell.
Doom
Before too long, the live-action rights for one Victor Von Doom will revert back to Disney, where Marvel Studios will be able to use the iconic villain at their own free villain. So far, Doom has been in two live-action movies — both of which, ended up critically panned.
When it comes to Kevin Feige and company, they’re not afraid to make an unconventional decision when it comes to introducing a character, so picture this — a solo, R-rated flick featuring the God Emperor Doom version of the character to kick things off.
It’d probably result in a biting-more-off-than-you-can-chew scenario, but the character should be terrifying the second he shows up on screen and if that’s best achieved through an R-rated movie — from the mind of Noah Hawley, perhaps — so be it.
Fury MAX
Last but not least, it’s long past time we let Samuel L. Jackson go full Samuel L. Jackson, right? What better way than to let the actor shine in his role than giving him an R-rated espionage thriller.
It could be based on the fan-favorite Fury: MAX run from Garth Ennis, or you could just have the camera crew follow Jackson around for the day and see what the star can come up with.
Honorable Mention: Where Monsters Dwell Limited Series
Bonus time! It’s been well-documented that the House of Mouse is investing heavily in their new Disney+ streaming platform. With company reportedly dropping loads of cash on the original properties that hit the service, perhaps it’s time for Marvel Studios to test the waters on an anthology series.
Whether it be an episodic anthology in the vein of Black Mirror or a seasonal change out like American Crime Story, they could come up with a dark, gritty series and slap it with the legendary Where Monsters Dwell name.
Zombies? That’s all the rage! Kaiju monster battles? They might as well! Moon Knight trying to stop werewolf by Night from razing a village? Make my day.
