Tom Hardy and Andy Serkis talked about their thought process behind making Venom: Let There Be Carnage a PG-13 film as opposed to an R-Rated one.
In an interview with ComicBook.com Hardy, who plays the title character, said they “100% considered” pushing the film into R-Rated territory, but ultimately decided to appeal to a broader audience and keep it PG-13.
“You read the comic books and it is extreme, but that’s not what we’re here to do,” Hardy said. We came here to make a movie which…there’s a law and a rule into creating a movie that’s accessible to a lot of people, as well as that caters for everybody, including the hardcore fans… And yeah, no, we didn’t bite everybody’s head off, but we did stick a tongue down someone’s throat pretty… and managed to come in at a level of rating which is reputable so that grandma can come but also I’ll come watch it too.”
In the same interview, Serkis, who is directing the film said it can be just as powerful at times to leave things to the audience’s imagination.
“We pushed it as far as we could possibly go, but with some room to go in people’s heads,” Serkis said. That character is pretty scary and the kind of the truth of where that character emanates from and Cletus Kasady is a character that is amplified through Carnage, does a lot of the work. So I think we certainly fulfill a lot of the essence of Carnage.”
Based on trailers and marketing materials, Woody Harrelson’s Carnage is shaping up to be just as brutal and terrifying as he is in the comics. With just a week to go until the film’s debut on October 1, fans will be able to see very soon just how far Serkis and crew went in pushing that PG-13 rating to its limit.