The Reason Why Deadpool is NOT Part of the Marvel Universe

Deadpool flat killed it at the box office during it's opening weekend, setting records for February movie releases, R-rated opening weekends, etc. But even though the "Merc with a Mouth" is a Marvel Comics character, don't expect him to team up with Captain America or Iron Man anytime soon. If ever.

My wife and I were two of the people that helped contribute to the movie's box office success, taking in an early Saturday showing at the soon-to-be-remodeled AMC 16 on Evansville's west side. Friends and co-workers I've talked to since then that haven't seen it were surprised by the R-rating and assumed it was part of the "Marvel Comics Universe" (MCU) that started with the first Iron Man.

For fans of the movies, comics, or both, the thought of the Avengers teaming up with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, among the host of other characters Marvel has churned out over the years, is a nerd-gasm waiting to happen. But it won't, and the short answer for why is because Marvel doesn't own the movie rights to all their characters, including everyone's new favorite, foul-mouthed anti-hero.

See back in the day, no one at Marvel had any thought about getting into the business of making movies themselves. Why would they when the major movie studios were banging on their door offering them millions of dollars to make movies out of their characters for them? Seeing an opportunity to make some extra cash, Marvel retained the rights to keep creating comic books using those characters, but sold off the rights to make movies with them.

According to a 2012 article on ScreenRant, Deadpool landed at New Line Cinema, but they never did anything with him. After they merged with sister-studio, Warner Brothers, the rights to 'Pool landed in the lap of their parent company, 20th Century Fox, who also own the rights to the "X-Men" franchise.

Considering the immense success of the movie (a sequel was given the green light just before the release of the first one), it's a pretty safe bet Fox is in no hurry to relinquish their rights any time soon. Of course in the business world, money talks, and I'm sure Fox would at least listen to Marvel if the latter expressed interest in buying back the rights. However, I'll go out on a limb and say the number Fox would have in mind would probably dwarf what Marvel would be willing to pay.

Check out the 2012 article at ScreenRant for the full list of who owns what when it comes to your favorite Marvel Comic characters.

Now, here's a GIF of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool doing a WWE-style crotch chop, just because.