Late last week, comic book fans were overjoyed by the announcement that the long-awaited Deadpool movie finally had a greenlight from a studio, and a February 2016 release date. That joy was immediately followed by a feeling of apprehension, however, as the fate of the film’s rating started popping up.
Diehard fans of the character will tell you that the Merc with a Mouth can only be properly brought to life with a hard R. Not only does Deadpool like to drop the occasional F-bomb, but he’s got a penchant for ultra violence that isn’t quite suitable for audiences of all ages. But, with the studio already taking a risk on greenlighting the film, will 20th Century Fox feel the need to appeal to mass audiences and tone things down a bit for a PG-13 rating instead?
An early report from Schmoes Know soon after the initial release date announcement suggested that director Tim Miller had found a way to do just that; which, as you can imagine, upset Deadpool fans. Now, however, we’re hearing that the film’s rating isn’t yet set in stone.
According to Deadpool co-writer Rhett Reese (Zombieland), there has not yet been a decision made about the rating. He took to Twitter today and posted the following message to fans:
Hey, guys, no one knows yet whether Dpool will be R or PG-13. There may not be an announcement for a long while. Hang in!
— Rhett Reese (@RhettReese) September 22, 2014
So, that settles that… for now. The topic is bound to come up again and again until something official is finally announced. Personally, I think it’s completely possible for Deadpool to succeed with a PG-13 rating and still appeal to diehard fans of the character, but I understand the desire for a bloody true-to-the-comics adaptation.
Tell us, what do you think of this update? Are you dying to see Deadpool land an R-rating, or would you be happy with it being PG-13? Let us know in the comments section below.
Deadpool is set to finally hit the big screen on February 12th, 2016.