One of the top comic book movies I’m looking forward to checking out the most is writer-director James Gunn’s reboot of The Suicide Squad starring Idris Elba and Margot Robbie. And if there weren’t already enough reasons to be excited about the upcoming action flick, today we’re hearing that Warner Bros. and DC plan to unleashed Gunn’s rebooted take with all the violence and f-bombs our little minds can handle. What I mean is James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad will probably be rated R.
This update comes from a piece that lets us know Warner Bros. and DC are becoming more and more comfortable putting out R-rated content for adults following the success of Todd Phillips’ Joker with Joaquin Pheonix. And it seems like this is the smart way to go as 20th Century Fox’s R-rated comic book movies Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan were massive successes – just like Joker. And best of all for DC, now that Disney owns Marvel, it seems unlikely the House of Mouse will ever get behind Marvel producing R-rated content. So DC may have finally found its foothold in the world of comic book movies. And it’s about time.
In fact, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations by the name of Jeff Bock weighs in on the potential success Warner Bros. and DC’s new enthusiasm for R-rated films could snag, saying this.
“There’s a huge appetite for R-rated superhero movies and if Marvel isn’t going to step up, that presents an opening for DC to tap into that audience.”
Ain’t that the truth, brother. But as cool as it is that Warner Bros. and DC are stepping up their game on more adult-friendly content, what this here fanboy is really excited to see is James Gunn’s return to the world of R-rated movies. I mean, don’t get me wrong here, I loved the original Guardians of the Galaxy as much as the next guy – if not more.
But finally seeing James Gunn be able to let loose again with his Troma-born style of R-rated shenanigans on the big screen, with a big-budget, is what has really got me excited about The Suicide Squad now. Let’s just hope the powers that be behind the scenes don’t pull a Venom by promising us an R-rated take on a classic character(s), only to dull the whole shebang down to a teen-friendly PG-13 when the rubber hits the road.
I have faith Gunn, Warner Bros., and DC will do fans right. But either way, it’s going to be at the very least a good solid year before we hear anything concrete on The Suicide Squad‘s ultimate MPAA rating as the movie isn’t set to be unleashed into a theater near you until August 6, 2021. That sure is a long time to wait, but it’s all good as we still have director Cathy Yan’s standalone Harley Quinn flick Birds of Prey coming our way in just a few short months on February 7, 2020. In the meantime, this update comes to us from Variety.
