The MPAA has officially bestowed an R-rating upon what is referred to as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition — specifically, for sequences of violence.
The big question is this: If or when will the “Ultimate Edition” of the film be released to the public? We can easily presume that Batman v Superman will hit theaters this March via its PG-13 format. Numerous films of various genres are released on DVD and Blu-ray in different cuts — R-rated, Unrated, Director’s Cut, Extended Cut, etc. It’s a common practice that most of us are familiar with. For example, maybe you went out to see a horrendously bad PG-13 horror film, filled with jump-scare cliches and weak expository dialogue. Then, a few weeks or months later, you’re wandering around Best Buy like a zombie after work, and you find that particular horror movie on the Blu-ray shelf, and the cover art says, “Unrated Version.” However, we can rest assured that Batman v Superman‘s MPAA issues do not pertain to such gimmicks implied in the previous example; Zack Snyder is not unaccustomed to R-rated superhero or comic book films — just look at 300 and Watchmen. Both films were adapted from comic book source material, and hit theaters with hard R-ratings, splattering us with a bit of blood and good times. Ultimately, only time will tell when we will get our hands on a scrumptious R-rated Batman v Superman, but let’s just assume that it will be when the film is released on DVD and Blu-ray.