Deadpool 2: Will Ryan Reynolds' R-rated mercenary survive the Fox/Disney merger?

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Deadpool is used to new challenges. In Deadpool 2, out May 18, the Merc with a Mouth, played by Ryan Reynolds, has to defend a teenage mutant from the very intimidating, time-traveling badass Cable (Avengers: Infinity War‘s Josh Brolin).

But how will Deadpool handle a corporate acquisition? In December, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and much of its entertainment arms, including Deadpool‘s film studio 20th Century Fox.

The idea of a profane, heavily violent R-rated comic book movie has made some fans nervous that Disney might not support the film series. But Reynolds and X-Men film architect/Deadpool 2 producer Simon Kinberg both say nothing has been addressed or decided yet.

“I really genuinely don’t know a thing about it,” admits Reynolds. “I read that [CEO and chairman] Bob Iger felt that there’s plenty of room in that universe to have a rated-R character like Deadpool. This is completely conjecture on my part, but I wouldn’t imagine that Disney bought Fox to dismantle it or something like that. I think that Disney bought Fox so it could have that in its arsenal.”

Adds Kinberg, “We haven’t had any discussions yet about what the Disney acquisition of Fox would look like for the Marvel properties because I think legally they’re not allowed to talk about it until it’s done. So no we haven’t talked about it all. We’re just moving forward as we move forward. Once Drew Goddard’s ready we’ll get into X-Force and, believe it or not, we’re still trying to get Gambit [starring Channing Tatum as the cajun mutant] up and running. The hope is to keep moving forward until we hear otherwise. To me, I have no idea what to expect but I think it could be really exciting.”