Thor: Love and Thunder is rated PG-13, but one of the reasons listed by the MPA is quite surprising. The film, which is coming to theaters on July 8, is the next cinematic entry in Phase 4 of the MCU, which has already included five films and seven streaming series, beginning with the Disney+ release of WandaVision in January 2021. It will be following Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness into theaters by just two months and debut just days before the finale of Ms. Marvel. The project will also be the fourth solo film featuring the character Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, and the second helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi.
Thor: Love and Thunder will follow Thor after the harrowing events of Avengers: Endgame, when he begins to experience a mid-life crisis and wonder whether or not he should continue to be a superhero. When Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) stirs up trouble, he will be forced to step back into the ring alongside a brand new heroine, The Mighty Thor, which is the mantle taken up by his former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) when she wields his hammer Mjolnir. The rest of the film's cast includes Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, and Russell Crowe, and will also feature an extended crossover with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The official listing on FilmRatings explains why Thor: Love and Thunder was rated PG-13. The MPA's list of reasons for this rating declares that the film contains "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity." While every film in the MCU has been rated PG-13, this is the first film in the franchise's 14-year history that a film has contained "partial nudity."
Over the years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had no qualms about showing male flesh. From the very early days of Peggy Carter ogling Captain America's newly created physique and Jane Foster encountering Thor in the middle of changing his clothes in New Mexico, brief shirtless scenes have been built in for nearly every Marvel hero. There was even an iconic joke about Cap having "America's ass" in Avengers: Endgame, but this is the first time that any of their material has been considered "partial nudity."
Presumably, this rating is in reference to a shot from the trailer that includes a blurred-out image of Thor's butt. When the image actually appears in Thor: Love and Thunder, it will almost certainly be unblurred. This will make it the first Marvel movie to show a nude butt, furthering Phase 4's slightly more risqué turn after the sex scene that was included in 2021's Eternals.
Source: FilmRatings
