Disney Parks has announced via its social media accounts that Deadpool is making his debut as a meet & greet character the Avengers Campus Marvel lands to celebrate the opening of hard R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters on July 26, 2024. This covers dates & details of the announcement, plus a bunch of photos of the walk-around anti-hero and our commentary.
According to Disney Parks, Deadpool will meet guests at Avengers Campus in the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris starting on July 24, 2024. Deadpool will then appear to meet guests at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure at Disneyland Resort starting on July 26, 2024.
The announcement was shared alongside photos of Wade Wilson enjoying a “Disney Day” visit to DCA. The photos alone offer some humorous juxtapositions for those familiar with Deadpool. Here’s a look at the images released by Disney:
In terms of commentary, everything I have to say about this is probably going to make me sound an unfun old man yelling at a cloud. Nevertheless, I’m not the biggest Deadpool fan in the world. I’m also very aware that my perspective is the unpopular one, at odds with the $160 million opening weekend tracking for Deadpool & Wolverine.
It’s not like I’m a prude with regard to sex, violence, profanity–we watch a lot of HBO! I thought the first Deadpool was fairly good at the time–it did something different and had a certain novelty. That wore off by the second, which felt like a needless retread–the very thing it was purporting to be skewering. I’ll see the third one at some point, mainly for Wolverine. Logan is one of my favorite super hero movies.
Maybe I just don’t “get” Deadpool, but it strikes me as gratuitous and not nearly as clever as it thinks it is, with most of what’s considered subversive or self-aware really being simple shock-value. It’s wink and nod tediousness in the same way as the Wendy’s social media accounts–a surface level script-flipping that gets old quickly because it’s one-note and doesn’t actually have anything to say.
My hope is that Deadpool & Wolverine brings something fresh to the table (rather than a bunch of “we’re now owned by DISNEY!” jokes), and shows more influence from Logan–an actual adult super hero film. That probably cuts to the heart of the issue: I am too old for Deadpool. That I’m simply not the target audience and that not everything needs to be made for me.
I’m sure teenage Tom would’ve been obsessed with Deadpool, much like middle school Tom loved Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and all those Adam Sandler comedies of the 1990s. (I’d like to think that all of those still hold up, but I’ll stick with the happy memories of them being the greatest movies of all-time rather than risking rewatches.)
Even if it ends up being ‘not for me,’ I really hope Deadpool & Wolverine is well-received by fans and provides a needed shot in the arm to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latest phase hasn’t been all that good, but this could be the movie that turns things around. (On a positive note, I think the trailer for the next Captain America movie looks really promising!)
As for Deadpool coming to the Disney Parks, it doesn’t really bother me. My guess is that there will be some performative pearl grabbing over a character from a hard R-rated movie known for his vulgar language and crude behavior. However, I’d imagine that anyone who made it more than 15 minutes into one of the Deadpool films won’t be offended by this themselves and anyone who didn’t watch the movies doesn’t know enough about the character to have an actual, informed opinion.
Basically, what I’d expect is fans voicing concerns about the Deadpool meet & greet characters on behalf of others. Or because they’re simply looking for things to complain about, and the erosion of morals and Disney values or whatever is one of those topics that some fans seem to rally around. That’s about as tired as a joke from minute 110 of Deadpool 2, though.
My perspective on this is that the character meet & greet should be judged on its own interactions and behavior, and there’s almost certainly not going to be anything about the walk-around Deadpool that’s offensive to the average guest who makes a point of meeting him. It’s not like Deadpool is going to be running around farting on Mickey Mouse or whatever. In actuality, it’ll only be “shocking” to see Deadpool in the parks if you’re familiar with the films…and if you’re familiar with the films, you have no legitimate basis for those concerns.
What most interests me is the kind of interactions and dialogue Deadpool will offer. Will he break the fourth wall, referencing and poking fun at his surroundings in Disneyland? Will he deliver sharp PG-13 lines and needle guests a bit? I wouldn’t be surprised if so–but I also don’t think it’ll be all that much “worse” than the Tremaines, Gaston, Jack Sparrow, or a handful of other characters that have longer leashes on their interactions.
All of those characters are great at knowing their audience and landing jokes that can be a bit more adult and go over the heads of any kids who are present. Deadpool will obviously be toned down as compared to the movie character, but I’d still expect his spirit to be the same. I’m actually looking forward to seeing the Deadpool character, how Disney/Marvel thread the needle on his script, and the degree to which the performer is able to adlib and convey the spirit of this mouthy character. It’ll be a challenge–but could be a lot of fun!
As for how long Deadpool will appear to meet guests at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris remains to be seen. The announcement indicates it’s for a limited-time, which is pretty common.
This isn’t the first time that Disney has added limited-time enhancements to Avengers Campus. To the contrary, this happens with just about every new Marvel series on the Disney+ streaming service. In the last few years, we’ve seen Werewolf by Night (by far the coolest of the bunch!), Nick Fury, Jane Foster as Mighty Thor, Hulk cosplaying as Baymax, Zombie Captain America, various variants of Loki, and others I’m probably forgetting.
This happens because the streaming service and/or studio have marketing budgets, and they spend a portion of that on additions to the theme parks. These function as publicity directly to guests in the park, as well as when photos, video, and other content inevitability goes viral on social media. It’s nothing new or unique to Marvel, either. Disneyland Resort has historically benefited from limited time additions via studio marketing budgets.
It’s always possible that Deadpool will stick around “by guest demand.” After all, he is a very popular character and it sure sounds like this movie is going to make bank at the box office. At minimum, I’d expect Deadpool to be budgeted through Labor Day–but I could see him disappearing and reappearing after a brief hiatus and becoming a permanent fixture of Avengers Campus.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited for Deadpool at Disney California Adventure or WDSP? What are your thoughts on Deadpool? Excited to see Deadpool & Wolverine, or are these movies not for you? Does it bother you that an R-rated character is coming to the Disney Parks, or do you not care? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
