Sadly, when a film surprises everyone and becomes a massive pop culture phenomenon, Hollywood learns the wrong lessons and we end up with copycats and terrible spin-offs. And even though it seems as if Warner Bros. might be going down that road with “Joker” (if Todd Phillips ends up with his “label” of dark origin stories), it appears that the studio did learn something good and now has confidence that an R-rated superhero film can work, allowing for future projects that would have normally been limited to PG-13 to be given the more adult rating.
According to Variety, insiders are hinting that James Gunn’s upcoming “The Suicide Squad” could be one of the upcoming WB superhero films that will be allowed to carry an R-rating. If that turns out to be the case, the film would join “Birds of Prey” as the second “Suicide Squad” spin-off film to get the adult rating.
Released in 2016, David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” carried a PG-13, but the film never felt like it was holding back anything to achieve that rating. In fact, no one would ever say that Ayer’s film held back anything at all. I still have nightmares from the garish editing and obnoxious needle drops from that film. However, that doesn’t mean the characters featured in the film, especially the ones carrying over to Gunn’s pseudo-sequel/reboot wouldn’t benefit from the R-rating.
The very nature of the team, being that its a collection of badass villains that are going on suicide missions after being threatened with bombs that would blow their heads off, screams R-rating. And while Gunn has been playing in the confines of PG-13 with his “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, the filmmaker is no stranger to adult content. Hell, just watch “Super” if you want to see the director tackle more risque superhero antics.
Plus, it makes sense that WB wouldn’t expect anything less than an R-rating for “The Suicide Squad” considering “Birds of Prey” is arriving in February and will already have the rating. That film features Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), who is coming from Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” and will be featured in Gunn’s film also, and the early buzz is that the film might not be nearly as dark and bleak as “Joker” but will definitely earn its more adult rating.
So, while we just assumed that “The Suicide Squad” would be PG-13, it appears that we should have assumed the opposite. And now that it’s being reported, it feels right.
Here’s a clip from “Super” to show you how Gunn handles adult superhero films (also, you should watch “Super,” it’s great):
