It’s official: when Venom slithers into theaters next month, it’ll be rated PG-13 for comic book violence and occasional swearing. Oh, and it’ll run for one hour and 52 minutes, ensuring Sony’s budding franchise-starter is just under the two-hour marker.
From a business perspective, it certainly makes a lot of sense. Not only is the PG-13 rating much more palatable than a hard R, but it also leaves the door open for a possible Venom/Spider-Man crossover further down the road, which simply wouldn’t be possible if Eddie Brock’s raging alter-ego was introduced as a loose cannon, prowling the streets like a flesh-eating vigilante. And that’s just it.
The dark and sinister nature of Venom has left some feeling underwhelmed by Sony’s PG-13 rating, with some even going so far as to say that the Ruben Fleischer-directed spinoff is a wasted opportunity… before it’s even hit theaters. Nevertheless, if a previous quote from the filmmaker is any indication, there may still be hope for an unrated cut of Venom:
I wouldn’t rule anything out. We’ll have to see where it lands, I guess, but I wouldn’t rule anything out.
That comment was made to Fandango (h/t ComicBook.com) earlier this week, indicating that there’s still a sliver of hope for Venom‘s unrated cut – even if it is just a sliver.
Chances are the Powers That Be will consider rolling out an alternate version of Venom in time for the inevitable Blu-ray release, though again, it really depends on the film’s box office performance. If the movie tanks, then Sony will likely move on to its next Spider-Man project, but we have a sneaking suspicion that Venom is destined for box office glory – a $60M-$70M opening weekend, to be precise.
