James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 receives an official PG-13 rating. The film is just a month away from its May 5 premiere and promises to be another thrilling addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The original Guardians of the Galaxy boasted one of the MCU’s most distinctive blends of action and humor, the latter often toeing the line in terms of vulgarity. The comic interplay between the main characters, in particular, took the MCU to hilarious new heights.
The first Guardians of the Galaxy’s slight tilt toward mature content earned it a PG-13 rating, which came as no surprise to viewers after watching it. The film’s mild violence alone was worthy of the rating, but the sometimes dirty language killed its chances of a PG rating for good. But Guardians of the Galaxy fans will likely be pleased to know that the sequel’s rating will not change.
Twitter account Stitch Kingdom announced on Tuesday that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is officially rated PG-13 for “sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive content.” The explanation for the rating is slightly different from that of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, which was rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.”
Considering the sometimes crass nature of characters like Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Drax (Dave Bautista), it should come as no surprise that the language once again helped lead to a PG-13 rating. The addition of “brief suggestive content” to the Vol. 2 rating indicates that the sequel's content could push the envelope even further than the original - especially with Drax, which Gunn described as the funniest part of the film.
While recent MCU entries like Doctor Strange and Captain America: Civil War had their share of fun, none have matched Guardians’ constant hilarity. Some of the characters’ language likely wouldn’t be welcome in a PG-rated film - for instance, Drax calling Gamora a “green whore” - so fans ought to be excited that Gunn ostensibly did not scale back the irreverent humor that helped make the first Guardians of the Galaxy so memorable.
The only fans that may be disappointed by the news of the PG-13 rating are the ones who were holding out hope for an R. The Guardians of the Galaxy aesthetic certainly doesn’t quite lend itself to R-rated violence, but the humor could have possibly stretched into Deadpool-level vulgarity. That wasn’t going to happen in a sequel with as much box office potential as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the sequel won’t be another worthy addition to the MCU.
Next: What We Learned on the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Set
Source: Stitch Kingdom
