James Gunn revealed that Warner Bros. initially asked him to make The Suicide Squad PG-13. Gunn's soft reboot of 2016's Suicide Squad opened in cinemas earlier this month to positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The R-rated movie has been praised for its humor, ensemble cast, and stylized violence. In comparison, 2016's Suicide Squad, which was rated PG-13, received mainly poor reviews from audiences and critics - though there has been much speculation (and some confirmation from director David Ayer) about how studio meddling impacted the finished film.
Gunn's R-rated reboot sees some characters from Ayer's 2016 film return, including Margot Robbie's fan-favorite Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller. Gunn brings in a raft of new anti-heroes alongside the stalwarts, including Slyvester Stallone's King Shark, Pete Davison's Blackguard, and David Dastmalchian's Polka-Dot Man. The Suicide Squad is the second R-rated DCEU movie, following 2020's adult-oriented Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Speaking with Collider, when asked whether he was surprised whether Warner Bros. let him make The Suicide Squad, Gunn said that he hadn't thought about it. He revealed that though the studio had asked whether he could make it PG-13, and he had said no, Warner Bros. ultimately decided that an R-rated movie written and directed by him was a better trade-off than a PG-13 movie without him. Read the full quote below:
I think I have a sort of blindness about that sort of thing. I wrote the script the whole time, thinking they would let me make it, I mean, they asked, "Can you make this PG-13?" I said, no. I said, "You can make it and take it with somebody else, and they can direct it, and you can do a PG 13. But if I'm going to direct it, I want it to be R." They were like, "Okay, that's worth the trade-off for us." So, they were great about it.
The studio will likely be happy with the results of their trade-off. The Suicide Squad's red band trailer set a record for accumulating over 150 million views in its first week. At the same time, the box office opening day return was the biggest total for an R-rated film during the pandemic - topping Birds of Prey's pre-pandemic opening day figure. While there were more significant issues with 2016's Suicide Squad besides the rating, Ayer had discussed making an R-rated sequel. Had Warner Bros. afforded him the same level of freedom they gave Gunn, Ayer might have been able better to explore characters and storylines in his directorial style.
The trend of R-rated DCEU movies shows no signs of stopping. The DCEU's superhero rival, the MCU, has yet to venture into R-rated waters. However, as Deadpool officially enters the MCU, this will change as Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has confirmed Deadpool 3 will be R-rated. While the success of The Suicide Squad might make some fans hungry for an R-rated Guardians of the Galaxy movie, audiences should be wary of getting their hopes up as Gunn has stated that he would never do an R-rated Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Fans, however, will get to see more of Gunn's R-rated humor, language, and violence in the Peacemaker spin-off series, starring John Cena. The show is due for broadcast in 2022.
Source: Collider
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