One can’t help but wonder if there will ever be an R rated superhero movie released for the masses.
Not like The Punisher or Judge Dredd, I mean an R rated Superman or Batman, although those characters obviously have to stay in the PG-13 range so they can bring in both the kids and their parents.
Yes, superheroes have become darker in recent years, but again, an R rated Batman, Superman or Spider-Man may just be too radical of a concept for current Hollywood sensibilities.
So it comes as little surprise that The Dark Knight Rises has been seen by the Ratings Board, and will indeed be PG-13. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, this means the film has been completed a good three months before it’s slated to hit theaters, and it’s also bound to make even more geeks jealous, because a good handful of people have already seen it.
Apparently, The Dark Knight Rises earned its PG-13 rating for “intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.”
As the Hollywood Reporter notes, having the movie finished this soon “highlights how efficient Nolan is as a filmmaker,” and that “the early rating also fires the starter pistol for the most aggressive phase of Warners’ marketing plan,” meaning, hopefully “Warners will be able to start screening the movie for tastemakers and critics.”
As one reader commented on the Reporter, finishing this quickly may also means it could highlight “how little CGI there is in the film, in comparison to the effects-heavy likes of Prometheus and Spider-Man.”
Clearly, an R rating for a $250 million dollar movie would definitely be a big no no, although you could imagine kids doing whatever they can to watch it regardless.
Still, it would be interesting to see what Chris Nolan could do with Batman with no ratings restrictions.
And as we reported previously on TG, there may also be two versions of the next Wolverine movie: PG-13 and R. Though Batman will probably always remain PG-13 terrain, again, it would be interesting to see just how dark the Dark Knight could get one day.
