One of the most difficult things director Francis Lawrence had to do while making the 2005 Keanu Reeves starrer was to make the film that would get a PG-13 rating. That meant he couldn’t make the film that he had dreamt of making- a violent horror film in the superhero genre. However, with the sequel to the film coming up, the director hopes he does not have to not compromise on his vision a second time.
It is only in the last few years that we have seen R-rated films set the ticket halls on fire, until which, despite a few occurrences, R-ratings for films were considered to limit the general audience’s footfalls to the theatres. Hence it is understandable why the studio wanted the film to be made in such a way that it gets a PG-13 rating, though funny enough the film did end up getting an R-rating from the board for its intensity.
While the film did end up being much loved with good horror elements, one can’t help but wonder what it could have been. We have seen how well ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness’ combined the superhero genre and horror this year. With the old team of Constantine coming back this time with the intention of making the film a truly violent and gory horror film, fans are excited and so are we.
While the studio has not given thumbs up for the film being R-rated, it seems to be highly likely especially since R-rated films like ‘Deadpool’, ‘Deadpool 2’ and ‘Joker’ have, in the last few years, proved they too can gross big numbers. An R-rating would also mean we would get to see the darker and horror-filled magical side of DC, not yet been explored much. With DC entering a new age, this would be a welcome change.