Actor Robert Pattinson has a shocking reaction to The Batman receiving a 15+ rating in the UK. Pattinson is the latest actor to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in live-action form, starring in director Matt Reeves' The Batman, which opens this week. Pattinson is joined by stars Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis, in the latest solo outing for The Caped Crusader since Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises in 2012.
The Batman films have traditionally had a PG-13 rating in the U.S., from Tim Burton's Batman through Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Zack Snyder's Justice League, which stars Ben Affleck as Batman, is the only live-action film featuring the character to date that has carried an R rating (it has a 15 in the UK). All other live-action Batman films have been rated 12 or lower by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) thus far, with some of the more mature-minded animated films, such as Batman: The Long Halloween and Gotham By Gaslight carrying a stronger rating.
The Batman is the first Batman film to carry a 15+ in the UK, which was news to Pattinson. In an interview with Cameron Frew of Unilad, Pattinson is told that the film would be a 15, the first since Batman Returns (which was retroactively changed to a 12A), which is a shock to the actor. "No way. What happened?" Pattinson says, smiling. "I didn't even know. Oh, no. It's a disaster!," the actor says, jokingly, seemingly alluding to the box office issues that would cause with younger viewers not being able to see the film in the theater. He goes on to question if Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was a 15 (it's rated a 12), before explaining the rating's system to co-star Zoë Kravitz, who was unaware of how the BBFC ratings system worked. Check out Pattinson's reaction below:
Pattinson began his career as the vampiric heartthrob Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise, a role the actor played over the course of five films. Once the Twilight series was complete, Pattinson began to take on a myriad of roles that were exceptionally different, creating new challenges for the actor from film to film. He began the rebranding process by cutting his teeth on films like The Lost City of Z, The Rover, Good Time, High Life, The Lighthouse, The King, and most recently for Christopher Nolan's Tenet. The Batman marks his first superhero role and is one he's keen to continue if more films are to follow.
Film ratings, from the MPAA to the BBFC and beyond, have always been a source of contention for studios, filmmakers, and fans alike. The Batman has been marketed as an extremely dark and heavy film from the start, however, so it's not a tremendous stretch to see why it has a stronger rating in the UK. However, the US rating, which is PG-13, allows anyone 13 and older to see the film theatrically on their own, with anyone younger able to see it with a parent or guardian. A BBFC rating of 15, however, means that no one under the age of 15 can see the film in the cinema. Depending on how strict UK theaters are in enforcing that, it could potentially be a box office problem for The Batman, but thus far, not much concern has been shown for it, outside of Pattinson's shocked reaction.
Source: Cameron Frew (Unilad)
