It was recently revealed that Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will be getting an R-Rated cut for its eventual DVD and Blu-ray release in what’s been dubbed the “Ultimate Edition” of the movie. While some believe that’s a response to the success of Deadpool, others theorize that it could be a way of gauging the interest moviegoers may have in R-Rated DC Comics adaptations.
When Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad producer Charles Roven was asked about that, he maintained that the studio will be sticking with PG-13 movies moving forward.
“At the moment, my understanding is we are still releasing Suicide Squad as a PG-13, so there hasn’t been to my mind a serious conversation about doing anything other than that. I understand why Deadpool was released as an R-rated film, and I think that the DC Justice League characters, particularly because so many of them are so iconographic, have been around for so long and for so many generations that have grown up with them, and that are still growing up with them, I think we want to present them, when we finally present them, to the broadest possible audience that we can.
I think that’s why we’ve planned on making these movies PG-13. I’m not seeing any real reason to change. We’ve made some pretty edgy films that are rated PG-13. You never want to say “never” because we all evolve, but right now I think we’re staying that course.”
It doesn’t sound like the idea is being completely ruled out then, but there’s no denying that movies starring Batman and Superman are always going to be better off being Rated-R. When Roven was quizzed about lesser know characters like Lobo possibly targeting a more grown up audience, he remained coy and would only say that they’re “maybe kicking around the idea of it.”
Honestly, Warner Bros. could be better off sticking to PG-13 for theatrical releases and going down the R-Rated route for home video, especially if that’s something fans will embrace. We’ll just have to wait and see though to find out whether that extended version of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice ends up being worth a no doubt slightly heftier price tag.
