When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans all over the world “marvel” over it’s greatness. Ever since 2008 with Iron Man, fans have been hooked on what’s come to be known as, the MCU. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has done an amazing job at creating phenomenal movies, and more lately, TV shows on Disney+. Besides grossly lacking representation in many areas that need to be addressed sooner rather than later, there hasn’t been much darkness. Or as I like to call it, brutal violence that dons an R-Rating.
Some would say, myself included, that this sort of nature is more realistic than the stereotypical “happy-go-lucky” nature that the MCU has, for the most part, garnished. Shows like The Boys, which is technically a DC property as it’s published through DC’s Wildstorm Productions, and Invincible which is through Image Comics, have been extremely successful for Amazon Prime. These shows deliver the dark side of the superhero world in a perfect way. Invincible is probably the most fascinating as it deals with real-world issues, such as death, while also maintaining a “happy” nature overall.
Every now and then throughout the phenomenal 144-issue run of Invincible, heroes will occasionally die. Either in battle, or by a broken ally. The MCU doesn’t touch upon this at all whatsoever. Whereas in Marvel Comics, we see this sort of thing more often than not. DC has always been my go-to when it comes to comic books. Their dark nature and mature feel has just been a huge draw for me. As someone who enjoys dark stories, I deeply love what DC has done for the better part of a century.
Source: Disney
Before I go any further, don’t get me wrong. I love the Marvel movies with a burning passion. Their 13-year run is nothing short of iconic! I just mean, it’s about time Marvel Studios gets with the program. In now way do I have any distaste towards the MCU, I just want to see movies that aren’t entirely kid-friendly. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been a perfect start for the studio. Kevin Feige confirmed before the show’s release that it would, “be the darkest and most violent faction of the MCU to date.” I would have to pleasantly agree, especially after last week’s explosive fourth episode!
Source: Marvel Comics
With the X-Men now coming to Marvel Studios’ grasps, thanks to the Disney-Fox merger, it could be where we start to get some Rated-R content. Pretty much every Mutant deals with some sort of trauma, level of depression or anxiety, or has a REALLY dark origin story that all end up helping to make them a “dark” character. Polaris, daughter of Megneto and half-sister to Wanda Maximoff, is probably the best example of this. Her being Magneto’s daughter is what causes many people, even her own peers and allies, to fear her, and to resent her to an extent. Wolverine is another great example of this. I could make the argument that he’s essentially a gritty version of Deadpool.
The upcoming Disney+ Moon Knight series is where I expect the MCU to really embrace a dark tone, and mature rating. The character is a mentally disturb version of Batman crossed with a bit of Doctor Strange. If that doesn’t intrigue you, I don’t know what will!
People like darkness. People like violence, and people of course like great stories. Adding in a bit of whatever can be done to be considered “dark”, can only enhance the overall quality of a movie or television show. This is why I enjoy Avengers: Infinity War as much as I do. The fact that the villain won and the heroes lost, was just a great piece of writing that hooked me in and wanting to see what the sequel would entail even more. Killing half of the universe’s population will also help.
Source: Screen Rant
Take Netflix’s The Punisher for example, and even Daredevil and Jessica Jones for that matter! Those three, masterful shows by the way, used dark stories and incorporated heavy violence in a way that helped to make those shows as memorable as they are. With Marvel Studios now being able to play in the X-Men sandbox, I fully expect Deadpool 3 to be phenomenal. The first two Deadpool films are amazing, so give the character to Kevin Feige to work with? That seems like a match made in heaven and one that could potentially snowball the MCU to unlock R-Rated content even more so.
A vast majority of MCU fans have been clamoring for the family-friendly studio go down this path for years. And with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier embracing the mature tone, I fully expect Disney and Marvel Studios to answer our call. The upcoming Blade movie, staring the glorious Mahershala Ali, should be a movie than is gifted the R-Rating. The movie will star Eric Brooks aka Blade, whose half vampire, half human, as he sets out to hunt down vampires across the Marvel world.
Source: Reddit
He has multiple allies such as Moon Knight, Werewolf By Night, Ghost Rider, and the Punisher, all of whom are characters that should be done to an R-Rating every time they’re on screen. While I’m not going to sit here and suggest that any of them will appear in the movie, I will say that Blade is a character who should be handled in the same way. Especially if they give us a team-up eventually: Hearts of Darkness or The Midnight Sons. Would you want to see a PG-13 movie about a vampire hunter hunting monsters and vampires? I know I wouldn’t prefer it.
The seeds are set, the projects are there, and the characters are waiting. Now lets see if Marvel Studios/Disney agrees with us, and decide to backoff of their strict rule of everything with their name on it being made for kids and families.