Will Deadpool & Wolverine Save the MCU?

Ryan Reynold’s Wade Wilson proclaims, among other things, that he is Marvel’s Jesus. In a debuting teaser trailer for the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine the statement seems clear. The merc with the mouth is looking to revitalize the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but can he?

Last summer, Disney head Bob Iger admitted that Marvel (and many of the other branches of the company) was not seeing the results they wanted or needed. A few days before the 2024 Superbowl, Iger confirmed that Marvel’s production would slow down during an earnings call. It had long been speculated by fans but it’s official. We are looking at a different turn for Marvel Studios. In recent years they’ve been putting out 3 to 4 films a year. Add to that around 3 to 5 short-run television shows for Disney+. There has been quite a lot of Marvel!

Deadpool & Wolverine

With a reduced schedule, the latest upcoming film, Deadpool & Wolverine will be Marvel Studios only film of 2024. It’s certainly a risk since it’s possible it may fail, and there is nothing on the other side of it’s release to make up for lost profits. The move to minimize Marvel’s output could be a good one though. In a time where thousands of hours of entertainment is available to stream anytime, the business of movie making needs to rely on advertising more than ever. They need to put all of their efforts into getting people to see one movie rather than several a year. It’s what they are doing and it’s smart business.

That said, the advertising for Deadpool & Wolverine feels as though it’s already paying off. We reported earlier that the trailer broke records by being viewed over 365 million times in just 24 hours. Yes, Deadpool was already a popular character among fans, but the over-two-minute trailer (an expensive spot!) gave the audience exactly what they wanted. A good amount of teases, Easter eggs, and suspense that built anticipation for the film’s July release.

Marketing Deadpool in the Streaming Age

Can the anticipation can continue all the way up until Deadpool & Wolverine’s theatrical release? 2023’s biggest box office success, Barbie, proved that marketing campaigns are no longer just about trailers and movie posters. Audience attention is divided. Fewer and fewer people are tuning into terrestrial television. Special events like the Superbowl are an exception to that rule. Now that the big game is behind us, Marvel will need to find more unique advertising strategies going forward. Luckily, they have a fairly well versed advertising strategist on their hands with Ryan Reynolds.

The Advertising Charm of Ryan Reynolds

Reynolds has often taken non-traditional routes to advertise his films and brands. Up until the teaser trailer that aired during the Superbowl, the actor & entrepreneur had leveraged social media to build hype around the return of Hugh Jackman to the Wolverine character. He has also embraced Ryan Reynolds as a character. He’s turned up the volume on the Van Wilder-type persona he became famous for in the ‘00s. Even his advertising efforts for Mint Mobile, the wireless phone company he bought into, continually features his laissez faire attitude and quick wit. Basically, he never drops the character. In turn, it has made him safe and reliable. If you see Ryan Reynolds on screen, you probably know what you are going to get. For audiences worried about how they spend money and what types of movies are worth seeing, safety is an important part of his advertising style.

Marvel & Audience Perception

The perception of Marvel, and Disney as a whole, is that the studio has stopped catering to wide audiences and core fans. Whether that’s actually happened or not, public perception does influence how and where people spend their money. Marvel’s uptick of so many TV shows and films has not only diluted how much they advertise, but they’ve worn out the audience. The same audience who, back in 2019, showed up in record breaking numbers to see the end of “The Infinity Saga”.

After Avengers: Endgame, audiences were satisfied and would need convincing to continue supporting Marvel’s superheroes. Although there have been some well received stories, the sheer amount of projects released has left audiences feeling like there are more misses than hits. Plus, in order to jump back into an MCU story like The Marvels, they would need to sift through the wreckage of shows and films they may not care about. 

You can also argue that part of the issue is Disney’s push to be more inclusive, as well as the online rage baiting against it. I think that is more or less an internet issue though. Rarely do I hear people talking about it in real life. Not to say that it doesn’t have any impact, but I don’t believe it has the impact the internet believes it does. Rather, the general perception of quantity over quality, as well as the difficulty to jump back into stories feels dauntingly too big. Marvel needs a film (or show) to re-energize it’s audience.

Hollywood’s Growing Box Office Problem

This isn’t just a Marvel or Disney issue. Movie theaters have struggled to find their footing since reopening to the public in late-2020. The Covid shutdowns accelerated an already concerning issue. Since so much entertainment was streaming on television, why would people choose the theater over picking a film on Netflix? With the pandemic, people were forced into finding something to watch on a streaming platform. As the world reopened for business, some found that they preferred the experience of staying home. They could press pause whenever they wanted. They didn’t have to deal with theater goers on their phones. That has left the major studios in trouble as they rely on both streaming services and box office ticket sales to pay for the large budget films they are creating. 

Over the last few years, the Hollywood studio system has begun to work overtime to get people back to the big screen. Outside of a few blips on the radar, not much has worked. Big event films like Spiderman: No Way Home, The Super Mario Bros. Movie or the Barbie & Oppenheimer double release created buzz. Due to how big they felt and the advertising that began months before release, they paid off. Smaller films, like those from Neon and A24, have done well with word of mouth. Unfortunately, for every film that seems to do well in theaters, a dozen more end up losing money at the box office. Even worse, they end up on a streaming service where they make nothing back on their budget. Good for consumers, but bad for business.

The Superbowl commercials did offer more than just Deadpool & Wolverine as upcoming theatrical films. Both Twisters and Wicked feel like they have momentum going into their releases. The Ryan Reynolds fronted film, however, has the most longevity in terms of advertising. It’s offering to be the savior for Marvel, Disney, or the movie industry at large. Here is to hoping that Deadpool & Wolverine delivers it’s promise for the movie industry’s much needed revitalization.