World War I is an absolutely horrific chapter in world history. Emerging technologies meant battles were fought unlike any other, and nearly 40 million people were killed, wounded or left missing in action. The brutality of this environment led to a specific challenge in the making of Wonder Woman -- which uses the global conflict as a backdrop -- but simultaneously it was extremely important for director Patty Jenkins to not let the movie get an R-rating. She recently told me,
I cared a lot about it never being an R-rating. And I totally support the movies that do have an R-rating, but in this case I was very aware that little girls were going to want to see the film, and I was very protective of that. So it had to not be Rated R to me. I would have been happy to go for PG, but it's World War I, so we couldn't!
As the filmmaker alluded to, R-rated comic book movies have become in vogue thanks to the success of titles like Deadpool and Logan, but that was never something that was in the cards for Wonder Woman. I had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with Patty Jenkins earlier this month at the Los Angeles press day for the DC Comics blockbuster, and one of my questions was about the handling of the World War I setting. I asked if there were any warfare sequences that nearly pushed the rating beyond PG-13, and Jenkins explained why it was important for Wonder Woman to not go near that boundary.
Of course, this was definitely the right choice for Wonder Woman. As Patty Jenkins notes, it is a great thing that young girls will be able to cheer on a female superhero in her very own big screen adventure, and it would have been crazy to put up roadblocks to prevent that. Wonder Woman does have some intense sequences that come as a natural result of the film wanting to realistically portray World War I... but parents also should know that we don't see bodies exploding and blood gushing everywhere.
You can watch Patty Jenkins discuss Wonder Woman's rating and portrayal of World War I violence by clicking play on the video below!
All of those young girls and everyone else who has been patiently waiting to finally see a Wonder Woman solo movie will finally get their wish at the end of this week, with the film arriving in theaters this Friday, June 2nd. Here on CinemaBlend we will have plenty of related content coming your way -- but be sure to also stay tuned for more from my interview with director Patty Jenkins!
