WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Adam Project, now available on Netflix.
Since Ryan Reynolds played Deadpool, fans compare his subsequent roles to Wade Wilson. It's not surprising given Reynolds usually exudes quick-witted sass, which allows him to be a kid at heart, as seen with Shawn Levy's Free Guy.
Reynolds and Levy reunited for Netflix's The Adam Project, but this time, the Deadpool comparison made a lot more sense given his character, Adam Reed, is a time-travelling soldier. Interestingly, while Adam's journey proved that Reynolds could indeed pull off a PG-13 Deadpool, ultimately, he shouldn't.
Just like how Wade went through time in Deadpool 2 to kill enemies and save Vanessa, Adam did the same, trying to save his wife, Laura. He had the same assassin vibe, using a version of a lightsaber, a time-jet and other badass weapons to take out the time-assassins Maya sent after him.
His mission then evolved into preventing a dystopian future, so clearly Adam was in Deadpool mode. But he made sure not to lace the film with profanity, not to mention Levy reduced the gore by having time-displaced soldiers shimmering away once they got killed. It was a smart way of keeping the stakes high and the action sequences intense, but with no blood and guts. This sanitized Adam is a charismatic hero, who along with his younger self, felt like Deadpool and Kid Deadpool jumping around time to heal the future.
With Levy tapped to direct the third Deadpool film, it's easy to see Disney and Marvel viewing this as a clean approach to bringing the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still, while it balanced violence, had epic team-ups, dug deep into science, had moral quandaries over breaking the time-stream and steeped the Adams in corporate warfare, it's a formula that shouldn't be copied due to the essence of what Wade is and how hard Reynolds fought to get him done right. After Fox botched the assassin in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Reynolds campaigned for the role, endorsed the leaked footage and ultimately got the studio to give him his R-rated due. Anything else would have felt diluted, which is why the movies were successful -- they stayed true to the character.
Wade just won't resonate the same if their mature-audience vibe's cut off, which would be like Hugh Jackman playing a family-friendly Wolverine after the brutality and cursing in Logan proved to be the best iteration of the mutant. It'd just feel like a step down and regression rather than evolution.
Admittedly, it's something Disney would have to work on, given there's already backlash over the mature Netflix TV shows coming over to Disney+. Wade's just not meant to be PG-13, and altering his style could alienate the very fans who flocked to cinemas to see the wise-ass in action. Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see what compromise is made because Wade's brand just isn't Disney's, which will be Levy and Reynolds' biggest Hollywood test yet.
To see a PG-13 Deadpool at work, check out The Adam Project, now available on Netflix