With just a few months before the release of The Batman, the film has officially been given a PG-13 rating for violence and disturbing content. The long-awaited DC Comics film sees Robert Pattinson don the bat-suit to take on the corruption that plagues Gotham City. Pattinson's Caped Crusader will take on classic Batman villains, such as the Riddler (Paul Dano) and the Penguin (Colin Farrell). Director Matt Reeves helms the latest Batman flick, which is said to be set in a standalone universe that has no connection to any other DCEU movie.
While not connected to previous Batman movies, the upcoming film does share a similar MPAA rating. Going as far back to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman and 1992 Batman Returns, both movies released with a PG-13 rating. Likewise, Joel Schumacher's 1995 Batman Forever and 1997 Batman & Robin also received a PG-13 rating. Moving ahead a few years to Christopher Nolan's much darker depiction of the Caped Crusader, his three-film trilogy, consisting of Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), all received the same PG-13 rating. Staying consistent to its predecessors, the upcoming Pattinson-led Batman movie has also secured a similar rating.
Per FilmRatings.com, The Batman has officially received an MPAA rating. As expected, the movie is rated PG-13. The website lists the film's "strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material" as the reasoning for its rating.
While early rumors pegged the film to receive an R rating, such a rating seemed unlikely considering the fact that Warner Bros. wants their big-budget film to be accessible to as many audiences as possible. Despite the success of the Joaquin Phoenix-led 2019 Joker movie, which received an R rating, The Batman doesn't appear to be violent enough to warrant a similar rating. Nonetheless, the movie is still looking to push the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, which is apparent in the way Vengeance smashes helpless henchmen in the trailer, as well as the fact that the movie revolves around a sadistic serial killer in way of the Joker.
Keeping with the PG-13 rating of previous Batman movies seems like a win-win situation for Warner Bros. Doing so allows the film's creators to still offer plenty of action and violence without losing potential audiences. While some fans were hoping for an R rating, they'll still most likely be satisfied with the well-choreographed fight sequences. Fans can look forward to watching the Caped Crusader pummel his enemies once The Batman releases on March 4, 2022.
Source: FilmRatings.com
