Disney+ brings in R-rated Marvel films as service skews older
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Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) is adding R-rated Marvel movies to its Disney+ streaming service, straining the former family-friendly limits on the service as part of its long-expected move toward general entertainment streaming.
As of July 22, the service will feature Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and Logan, all produced by 20th Century Fox and rated R for mature content.


Deadpool and Deadpool 2 had started streaming on Hulu - the other streaming platform that Disney controls, along with Comcast (CMCSA) - last fall. But until now, the only Marvel films on Disney+ had gone only as far as a PG-13 rating, though the service has been marketed as Marvel's home.
The new movies are being added under the auspices of parental controls, a feature that Disney+ launched without. Such controls were added when Disney+ picked up the Marvel series originally for Netflix (NFLX): Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and The Defenders. All of those were rated TV-MA.
Fox controlled some limited Marvel properties, including Deadpool, Fantastic Four and X-Men, and Disney consolidated its Marvel properties heavily with the 2019 acquisition of Fox's media assets.