Suicide Squad 2 Is Heavily R-Rated According To Joel Kinnaman

James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is heavily R-rated according to star Joel Kinnaman. Warner Bros. launched the Suicide Squad franchise in 2016, but the first film, directed by David Ayer, had a mixed reception. Instead of Ayer returning to continue the series, Gunn jumped to the DC Extended Universe when he was momentarily fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to put his spin on Task Force X.

Fans recently got their first look at what The Suicide Squad will be thanks to a behind-the-scenes trailer released during DC FanDome. The footage showed the massive scale of the sequel/reboot and the large ensemble of characters Gunn is using. There are several big-name new characters in The Suicide Squad, but Gunn also retained some key members from the first film. One of them is Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, and based on his latest comments, the movie will be R-rated.

In a recent interview with THR, Kinnaman was asked about his experience making The Suicide Squad. The actor had nothing but praise to say about his time working on the new movie and doubled-down on recent comments about how funny it will be. However, the critical detail he revealed in this new interview is that the content of what they shot was "heavily R-rated," implying that The Suicide Squad will receive the mature rating upon its release.

That movie is going to be insane. The script is so funny. Every page of that script was funny, and every page made me laugh. James just has this command of that genre, but also over every aspect of comedy and even the marketing. He just understands the world so well, and since he wrote it, he really reinvents not just the concepts, but also the characters. For me, it was like I did my first comedy, but it’s like heavily R-rated. It was a real learning experience for me too because I’d never done a comedy in that way before. So I asked James to work with me and teach me this shit. And yeah, we had so much fun doing it. That movie is going to be a fucking monster. Honestly, even though I’m in it, I can’t wait to see it as a fan.

Kinnaman's comments are the latest sign that The Suicide Squad was made to receive an R-rating. Even though the rating is official, the potential for Task Force X's new mission to be R-rated is enticing. Gunn teased earlier this year that an R-rating for The Suicide Squad is possible, and some fans hoped this would be confirmed during DC FanDome. Instead, it is Kinnaman's statement that provides a new indication that the franchise is evolving past the PG-13 rating of the original film.

If The Suicide Squad does receive an R-rating, this will further signify how James Gunn is differentiating his style and tone between DC and Marvel. Both of his comic book movie franchises revolve around dysfunctional groups, but Disney and Marvel aren't too interested in R-rated material. While Gunn could still make The Suicide Squad different enough from Guardians of the Galaxy with a PG-13 rating, a raunchier and more violent tone for Suicide Squad 2 will make it closer to Super than Gunn's MCU movies. Now, we'll have to wait and see if the R-rated content shot for The Suicide Squad is kept or if the film is toned down during the edit to make it PG-13.

MORE: Everything We Know About The Suicide Squad

Source: THR