Before Deadpool & Wolverine came out in 2024, MCU films mostly stuck to a safe formula. The movies catered mainly to younger audiences with plenty of age-appropriate content for kids, with just a handful suitable for viewers 16 and above. While this strategy brought great success, there have also been a few flops, like 2025’s Thunderbolts and Captain America: Brave New World.
With terms like “superhero fatigue” being thrown around, maybe it’s time for Marvel Studios to switch things up and give more shine to the likes of Deadpool. After all, Deadpool & Wolverine proved that R-rated Marvel movies can dominate the box office. These R-rated Marvel characters could unleash the darker, bloodier side of the MCU, thriving in chaos, violence, and moral gray areas, and replicating the success of Deadpool 3.
11 Marvel Characters Who Deserve R-Rated MCU Movies
Silver Samurai
When a villain’s profile includes crimes like decapitation, mutilation, torture, and terrorism, it's an indication of how much gore comes with the package and how great it could play out on screen. Silver Samurai's motivation is simple yet twisted: a desire to live forever, even if it means taking infamous X-Men Logan’s immortality by any means necessary. Of course, Wolverine has something to say about that, leading to an intense and brutal clash.
Thanks to Silver Samurai's vast resources and powerful connections, this immortality-obsessed businessman got his hands on a high-tech adamantium samurai armor complete with a heated adamantium sword to match. Silver Samurai would bring that deadly mix of honor, obsession, and high-stakes combat that the MCU’s darker side desperately needs. His samurai background also makes him an elite addition to Marvel characters with strong Indigenous and cultural representation, bringing tradition and history to the MCU’s expanding roster of diverse heroes and villains.
Omega Red
Omega Red is a Wolverine villain with the natural ability to secrete "death spores," which severely weaken and kill everyone around him. His signature weapon is his retractable carbonadium tentacles, which he uses to drain life energy from his victims. His origin story is dark, twisted, and deeply disturbing. As a young man, he mutilated animals and beggars before graduating to members of his own family.
Surprisingly, joining the Russian army didn't calm Omega Red's violent urges. He occasionally murdered young girls and children, which eventually earned him a death sentence. The execution, however, didn’t take; his mutation saved him. Recognizing his potential, his superiors experimented with carbonadium, Russia’s unstable attempt to make its version of adamantium. Unfortunately, the carbonadium slowly poisoned his body, while his own pheromones made things even worse.
Omega Red’s only hope is the carbonadium synthesizer, a device that could stabilize the metal in his system. He has hunted Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Maverick for years, believing they know where it is. This created a major rivalry in Marvel Comics, a lineup of brutal and unhinged characters on both sides of the fight. With Omega Red’s twisted past, Wolverine’s feral rage, and the violent history shared between them, it’s the kind of dark, gritty conflict that even Deadpool would be on the edge of his seat for.
Taskmaster (Tony Masters)
Many fans still haven’t gotten over how much of a letdown Taskmaster was in the 2021 Black Widow film. And just when everyone believed that 2025’s Thunderbolts* would fix things, she caught a bullet to the head, ending her MCU run. Taskmaster was abruptly killed off by Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) after just a few stunts and a single line of dialogue.
Taskmaster is an extremely talented mimic with photographic reflexes. He can perfectly copy a person’s physical movements, athletic skills, and combat style without any practice or training, and even their voice with a little effort. Although Deadpool and Moon Knight were the only two characters he couldn’t fully replicate (with Deadpool getting a one-up for that), there’s no denying Taskmaster’s range and how much of a menace he could be. A proper Tony Masters version of Taskmaster in the MCU could bring a more calculated, cunning, and dangerously intelligent edge to what Deadpool already brought.
Midnight Sons
It’s not just the idea of Doctor Strange, Blade, and Ghost Rider teaming up; it’s the thought of a darker, more twisted version of this team that has MCU fans on the edge of their seats. Since rumors started swirling about the Midnight Sons, fans have been eager to see this supernatural squad come to life.
In the comics, Doctor Strange puts the team together to go up against Lilith, the Mother of Demons, and her army from Hell. If Marvel ever brings this version of the Midnight Sons to the big screen, it could easily become one of the MCU’s most chilling and R-rated storylines, complete with hell, demons, vampires, and many other scary species.
Ghost Rider
The MCU already introduced a version of Ghost Rider through Roberto "Robbie" Reyes, the car mechanic who appeared in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD for about 10 episodes. While it was a solid run, fans never stopped wishing this fiery antihero got more spotlight.
Recent developments suggest the Spirit of Vengeance may still return. Rumors point to Marvel exploring the supernatural side of the MCU through a potential Midnight Sons project, and reports even hint that an actor has already been chosen to play Ghost Rider.
Hopefully, this version of Ghost Rider could bring spontaneous combustion, vengeance, and heroism into the MCU. While the Merc with a Mouth is good with words, swords, and guns, Ghost Rider is a much colder, more lethal, and far more dangerous replacement for Deadpool in the MCU.
Sabretooth
Picture Wolverine with more fur, claws, and psychopathic tendencies without retracting adamantium claws. Sabretooth comes with a dark and twisted origin story: he’s killed members of his own family and follows a disturbing tradition where he hunts and tortures his brother every year on his birthday.
During his run in Fox's X-Men movies, he made a formidable foot soldier for Magneto and later returned as one of Cassandra Nova’s henchmen in Deadpool & Wolverine. Despite being such a layered and complex character, Sabretooth has never truly been front and center, but Marvel's experimentation with R-rated movies could finally change that. Putting his rivalry with Wolverine front and center can be the double dose of brutality on both sides that even Deadpool could only try to bring into the MCU.
Blade
At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that a new Blade film was in development, with Mahershala Ali taking on the iconic role. Fans went wild when Ali’s Blade made his off-screen debut in the post-credits scene of Eternals. Then, Wesley Snipes’ Blade teamed up with Deadpool, Wolverine, and the rest of the resistance to fight against Cassandra Nova and her minions in Deadpool 3.
Despite the film being stuck in pre-production limbo with its fair share of ups and downs, the hype for the half-human, half-vampire hunter to get his full MCU moment hasn’t died down. After all, nothing could be darker or more perfect for an R-rated Marvel story than vampires, hunters, and the bloody underground politics of the vampire world.
Carnage
The legendary symbiote Carnage is best known for bonding with the infamous serial killer Cletus Kasady, played by Woody Harrelson in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. However, the 2021 superhero film left many fans disappointed, as its PG-13 rating severely toned down Carnage’s signature brutality.
The ground was perfectly set for Carnage to make a proper MCU in Spider-Man: No Way Home (mid-credits scene). After Eddie Brock was displaced into another universe but before he was yanked back, a spec of his symbiote was left behind. While this might differ slightly from the comics, it still sets the stage for Marvel Studios to introduce Carnage and his psychopathic host in all their violent glory.
Even though Marvel Studios' Spider-Man trilogy has brought in a revolving door of villains, none would bring blood-soaked madness to the MCU quite like Carnage. Case in point, Eddie Brock tries to tame his symbiote, yet sometimes he still needs to bite off a head or two.
Wolverine
Hugh Jackman's Wolverine had quite the run in Fox’s X-Men series and an even more impressive MCU relaunch when he teamed up with Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine. Even though the original Logan was confirmed dead, the MCU gave fans new hope with this comeback. The film teased a revolving door of Wolverine variants, making everyone wonder what it would look like if Hugh Jackman actually got one solid Wolverine solo movie, hopefully before he’s 90.
Additionally, the request for a comically accurate Wolverine still hasn’t died down. This version would be even more animalistic, shorter, and scruffier in demeanor. A Wolverine film would undoubtedly be packed with all the head stabs, decapitations, slashing, and bloody action sequences that made Deadpool & Wolverine such an epic R-rated ride.
The Punisher
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher has slowly taken a back seat, showing up in the MCU as more of a supporting character. First, in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, he teamed up with Daredevil to take down the corrupt NYPD Task Force sent by Wilson Fisk. Punisher is also confirmed to be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. While that’s great, it also means there’ll always be a straight arrow around to keep Frank Castle in check and stop him from going full Punisher. Hence, fans still crave a good old Punisher flick, where he can finally be ruthless.
Bernthal’s Punisher will also appear in a 2026 Special Presentation, which will reportedly be a sequel to The Punisher and Daredevil: Born Again. With Bernthal having first walked away from Daredevil: Born Again over the character’s direction to now co-writing the Special Presentation with Reinaldo Marcus, the Disney+ special is the perfect chance to give fans a glimpse of Punisher's extremes.
Ever wondered what a female Punisher would look like? Check out the recently unveiled HD images of Marvel's new female Punisher.
Moon Knight
Even though Disney+'s Moon Knight was well-received, longtime fans of the comic book character felt it lacked the raw fight scenes and brutal edge the character is known for.
There is no word yet on whether Oscar Isaac will return for a Season 2, and MCU fans are still scratching their heads as Kevin Feige has yet to deliver on his Moon Knight movie promise. However, with the “all hands on deck” setup in the two upcoming Avengers movies, Moon Knight is strongly believed to be part of one of the movies. A recent report also claimed that things are looking up for the Midnight Sons film, and Marvel Studios has already hired a new writer to pen the script. This could also mark Moon Knight’s next big appearance, as he’s a member of the Midnight Sons in the comics.
Hopefully, that old promise will be fulfilled, and fans will finally see something like Deadpool, except with Egyptian gods, magic, and a touch of madness.
