After the recent success Deadpool, there was a number of studios that announced that some of their superhero films would be receiving an R-rating. Already planning a transition of the same nature, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would be getting an R-rated version when the movie comes to Blu-ray and DVD.
Although the studio stresses that an R-rated directors cut was always in the works, the timing of this announcement with Deadpool’s success is suspicious. Whether the studio rushed to this decision or it was always part of the plan remains to be seen. The film will be getting a longer cut, which will undoubtedly be darker. This is a practice that Zack Snyder has done with several of his films.
Talking with THR, Deborah Snyder (Zack Snyder’s wife and producing partner) says that the decision to release an R-rated version of Batman v Superman was not a snap judgement in the wake of Deadpool’s success. She said, “Online, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, they’re doing an R-rated in reaction to Deadpool,’ and you’re like (laughing), ‘We didn’t just shoot it last week, and we also didn’t edit it last week’.”
She also commented on the notion that the film was recut after the poor reception of the first trailer for Batman v Superman, saying, “No. When we had a locked picture, we didn’t change anything. We’ve been working on the 3D. We did the 3D conversion after the movie was done.”
Zack Snyder has also spoken about the extended cut of the film, which will be 30 minutes longer than the theatrical release of the film, which already boasts a runtime of 151 minutes:
“The DVD version] is a half-hour longer, and some of that additional material is some of the stuff we took out for the rating. I was like, ‘Cool, I can put it back in for the director’s cut.’ There was nothing by design. This was the material I just put back in, and then when [the MPAA] looked at it again, they were like, ‘Oh, now the movie’s rated R.’ And, by the way, it’s not a hard R. There’s no nudity. There’s a little bit of violence. It just tips the scale.”
Snyder also joked about the criticism Batman v Superman has received about its dark gritty tones, “I just gave it the weight that it deserves as far as the mythological conformation. But it’s still a guy in a red and blue suit fighting a guy in a black suit. I mean, they’re in costumes. The movie is fun, and Batman fights Superman. If you can’t have fun there, then something’s kind of wrong with you.”
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