The Justice League Snyder Cut has officially been given an R-rating for violence and language. The long-awaited film sees Justice League director Zack Snyder return to finish off his vision after he had to leave the project before it was complete and Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the movie. The Justice League Snyder Cut will release on HBO Max on March 18 as a four-hour film.
As the date gets closer, and the marketing campaign is in full swing for Snyder's movie, the director released a series of posters teasing the film. The Justice League Snyder Cut has even received a traditional blockbuster food tie-in themed around The Mother Box. The hype has continued to build thanks to a cryptic look at Jared Leto’s Joker. Anticipation is only growing for the film, and now its long suspected rating has been confirmed.
According to Film Ratings, the Justice League Snyder Cut will be rated R. The film has received this rating for violence and some language. This is one further contrast from the theatrical cut of Justice League, which earned a PG-13 rating for sequences of sci-fi violence and action.
Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment have been more willing to experiment with R ratings among their various projects. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice got an R-rated Ultimate Edition released on home video. Warner Bros. also hit it big with Joker as it became the highest-grossing R-rated film globally with over $1 billion. Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was the first theatrically released film in the DC Extended Universe to earn an R rating. However, it was recently confirmed James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad will be rated R as well.
An R rating is not surprising, given Snyder’s career. His first three films, Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen were all R-rated projects. While he has dabbled in more family-friendly fare like Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Snyder's take on the DC heroes has always been on the darker side of super-heroics. Man of Steel was rated PG-13, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was edited down from an R-rating. Most studios tend to try to avoid an R-rating, particularly with a superhero film that tends to be aimed at a young audience, as cutting them off could translate to potentially lost box-office. However, the Justice League Snyder Cut has been sold as the director's original vision, and it appears he always intended for his team-up film to be viewed by an older-skewing audience.
Source: Film Ratings
