When the first Venom film was released people were a bit surprised that it wasn’t R-rated. Well, it looks like Venom 2 might end up being R-rated. Here’s why.
One of this year’s biggest box office smash hits has been Warner Bros. Pictures’ DC Comics standalone movie, Joker, which was R-rated.
The film, director and co-written by Todd Phillips, is a pretty huge departure from what Warner Bris have done before with their DC Comics movies.
This was the first film they’ve made to be R-rated, and even though people tend to say not to make a big blockbuster R-rated because it’ll then hurt your box office takings, Joker still went on to make over $1 billion worldwide.
Joker’s success was really unprecedented because it didn’t even come out in China and the film was made on a pretty small budget.
It’s only real star was Joaquin Phoenix, and he’s not a huge name, and the film cost Warner Bros. Pictures $55 million, so it wasn’t going to be a big CGI spectacle.
That said, people still went to see it in their droves, and according to CinemaBlend, the film’s success has convinced Sony Pictures executives to allow Venom 2’s producers to make their upcoming movie R-rated.
Venom 2 might end up being R-rated
Spider-Man and Venom fighting one another in the comics (Credit: Marvel Comics)
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The first Venom movie was PG-13 in the US, which is what most superhero films tend to be nowadays, however, Venom 2’s producer, Matt Tolmach told CinemaBlend that they’r considering making the sequel R-rated following Joker’s box office success.
I mean, I think you always have to think about [it], now that that works. Having said that, our movie worked really well. Our franchise exists as it is, and I don’t think anybody is looking to just say, ‘Hey, they [did it]!’ We have a place in the world. So it isn’t like suddenly everybody’s considering what to do with the rating. … I think what Joker does is it tells you that you can succeed. For a very long time, that was the narrative. And Deadpool sort of wrestled that to the turf, and then Logan, but for a long time, that was considered totally forbidden. … So you know, I think it’s the greatest thing in the world that R-rated movies are being embraced by massive audiences. And it just means that there are more opportunities for that kind of storytelling.
This, to me, makes perfect sense. A film involving Venom really does need to be R-rated to do the character justice.
Venom 2 needs to be R-rated
Tom Hardy’s Venom could join Morbius movie – Credit: Sony Pictures|Marvel Comics
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He’s a violent and unpredictable character and wasn’t really suited to a PG-13 movie. The film’s producers should let the likes of Andy Serkis and Tom Hardy take him right to the very edge.
It would make for a far more compelling, and possibly far more profitable movie in the long-run.
What do you make of this? Would you like to see an R-rated Venom 2? Let us know in the comments below.
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