Even though there was plenty of speculation suggesting otherwise, there was virtually no chance The Batman was even going to be considered for an R-rating.
Joker may have surprised everyone by earning over a billion dollars at the box office, but the Clown Prince of Crime’s arch-nemesis has always operated within the parameters of a PG-13 environment, and Warner Bros. weren’t going to change that, especially when the theatrical industry is still struggling with the effects of the pandemic.
You can push the boundaries relatively far without heading down an R-rated path, though, and we already know Matt Reeves’ reboot will contain the mandatory single F-bomb and some steamy sequences, on top of the brutal, bruising, and crunching action.
In an interview with Den of Geek, Reeves didn’t just hype his vision for The Batman, but he even went to the trouble of shutting down rumors that an R-rated cut of the movie exists out there somewhere.
“In my mind, [The Batman] was always going to be a gritty, edgy, noir, thrilling spectacle that was PG-13. That was always what it was, but I always knew that we’d be pushing the limits of what that could be, and so we didn’t really have to cut anything. The promotional materials that you’re seeing, they’re fully reflective of the tone of the movie.
There isn’t some special cut of this movie where it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, here’s the R rating that you’ve been desperately wanting.’ I didn’t have to suddenly start drastically cutting the movie or anything like that. I’m happy we got the rating because I want people to be able to come to see the movie. But as far as people being excited about the tone that they’ve been seeing in the promotion materials, that is totally faithful for the tone of the movie.”
While we’re not necessarily against the notion of an R-rated Batman blockbuster under the right circumstances, based on everything we’ve seen from Robert Pattinson’s debut under the cape and cowl so far, it doesn’t look as though the latest cinematic trip to Gotham City even needs it.