The R-rating wasn't just about gore (though, the "baby hand" scene and the helicopter crash finale were plenty gory). It was about tone. The could swear like a sailor, make sex jokes about pegging, and engage in realistic (if cartoonishly violent) knife fights. Because of this success, studios immediately pivoted. Logan (2017) got its R-rating. Joker (2019) got its R-rating. The Suicide Squad (2021) followed suit. You can draw a straight line from the success of 2016 Deadpool to the entire "adult comic book movie" subgenre.
The 2016 film served as a high-octane reboot for the iconic Marvel character, effectively washing away the widely criticized portrayal of Wade Wilson in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine . Directed by Tim Miller, the film is an irreverent, R-rated superhero origin story that leans heavily into self-aware humor and graphic action. Plot and Character Development 2016 deadpool