As excited as we were last week about the news that the Deadpool movie had finally gotten a release date, we sadly didn't realize the potential drawbacks of the project actually moving forward. Basically, fans may have just made a deal with the devil: Sure, a Deadpool movie is now in active development at 20th Century Fox, but that may be because the studio is planning to make it and release it with a PG-13 rating in mind instead of the R-rating that we all really want.
This new rumor comes to us from the Schmoes Knows podcast, which claims to have some inside information regarding the development of Deadpool and we can expect from it ratings-wise. One of the hosts says that he recently had the opportunity to speak with director Tim Miller and confirmed that the movie is moving forward with a PG-13 rating. Said the podcaster,
"I heard from the director that they finally figured out the script…and you guys are all going to hate this: they figured out how to make it PG-13 and therefore not lose its soul - that’s a quote - of the script, so that they can make it."
While I remain very excited for the Deadpool movie, I must say that this news is still disheartening. After all, the titular hero of this "superhero" feature is a psychotic mercenary who likes killing people for fun (and money) and using adult language on the regular. A big part of the essence and the fun of the character is going to be lost when you mute some of his best characteristics, as we previously saw in X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
That's certainly the way the fan side of me looks at this situation, but at the same time it's not hard to view this situation from a studio perspective. Sure, comic book movies are the most consistently popular features at the box office these days, but R-rated comic book movies tend to have a hard time finding an audience. Jeff Wadlow's Kick-Ass 2 - a film Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick suggested audiences see simply to support the R-rated comic book movie genre - manged to make only $28 million in its domestic release last year. Hell, this past summer we saw Robert Rodriguez's Sin City: A Dame To Kill For crash and burn, having made only $13 million to date in the U.S. Violent, sex and curse filled comic book movies don't have a terrific track record, which is probably why Deadpool has spent the amount of time on the shelf that it has.
PG-13 rating or no, Deadpool still has some very talented people behind it. Ryan Reynolds, who is a Deadpool superfan, remains a great choice to play the character, and the projects script by Reese and Wernick has built up years and years of positive buzz. I'm also very interested to see the first feature from director Tim Miller, who is best known for his work as a visual effects artist. For a taste of what he can do, head over to page two!
That's right! Tim Miller actually directed the stunning opening credits sequence for David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo back in 2011. Get pumped for February 12, 2016.
