The Suicide Squad may have secured its R-rating, but the upcoming James Gunn movie will need more than this to succeed where its 2016 predecessor failed. Arriving in cinemas in August 2021, The Suicide Squad is James Gunn’s much-anticipated attempt to reboot David Ayer’s critically savaged 2016 antihero team-up Suicide Squad.
With new cast members including Idris Elba and John Cena as well as returning star Margot Robbie reprising her already-iconic take on Harley Quinn, it’s safe to say that this dark superhero comedy is one of 2021’s most anticipated blockbuster releases. The recent news that The Suicide Squad secured an R-rating was met with joy by many fans, some of whom felt that Training Day director Ayer’s dark vision for the 2016 original was compromised by the movie’s PG-13 rating.
However, in the post-Snyder world, it’s not enough to market a superhero movie, no matter how blackly comic, entirely on the promise that it will be an adults-only affair. Since Deadpool impressed critics upon release back in 2016, both movies in that Ryan Reynolds franchise, Logan, and Birds of Prey have collectively ensured that R-rated superhero movies are no longer an anomaly at the multiplex. Selling a superhero movie solely on the idea that an R-rating means more gore, more intensity, and darker, better results are no longer enough for many viewers with so many competitors in the crowded market of superhero movies. As such, the potential success of The Suicide Squad will come down to how well it balances these darker elements with pure popcorn fun. Pulling off this sort of tricky tone requires a great director—which is exactly what The Suicide Squad invested in.
Luckily, The Suicide Squad has more than just an R-rating going for it. The upcoming movie also has a director who knows how to use the adults-only rating, and who has also already proven that they can create an intense, original superhero story without one. Troma graduate James Gunn cut his teeth in Lloyd Kaufman’s infamous exploitation movie studio, making Uber-tasteless horror comedies such as the raunchy gross-out classic Tromeo and Juliet. Even Gunn’s more mainstream subsequent efforts, such as superhero spoofs Super and The Specials and body horror/comedy hybrid Slither, were lucky to earn an R-rating instead of an NC-17, as they were filled with profanity, sex jokes, and plentiful gore.
However, Gunn has since moved on to more family-friendly territory via the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, whose two hugely successful entries prove that the director’s unique vision isn’t necessarily compromised by a more accessible rating. There’s no doubt that Gunn will use The Suicide Squad’s R-rating to great effect, and may well even copy Deadpool 2’s goriest (and funniest) gag thanks to the freedom that the rating offers. But Gunn’s track record has already proven that he can put together a clever, funny, and at times appropriately dark and impactful superhero movie without requiring an R-rating, so fans can rest easy knowing that The Suicide Squad is in safe hands even if it hadn’t secured the rating.
