With the rise of Deadpool breaking the box office for a R-rated superhero movie, the industry has been buzzing about their various own properties, speculating and analyzing on whether or not an R-rated superhero movie is the next natural progression in this larger than life movie genre. Unfortunately, WB got caught up in it as well and decided to reveal that the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will likely appear on the home media release of the movie, will also be R-rated.
The timing is gratuitous, but the news itself isn’t necessarily a surprise. Zack Snyder has a few R-rated flicks under his belt and a few of them are or can be considered superhero movies. And seemingly because of this, Snyder isn’t too interested in discussing it. In a new piece in Entertainment Weekly, Snyder discusses the editing of the flick, from the runtime to the various cuts made.
The theatrical cut currently stands at 2 hours and 31 minutes, which is an endeavor. Snyder reveals that it was actually him who pushed for cuts more than anybody and that WB seemed perfectly content to release an extremely long movie. In his explanation, he reveals that the end credits sequence will likely be about 9 minutes.
“We were just like, ‘Okay, look. We’re not making a three-hour movie. I mean, even I didn’t want to make a three-hour movie. I drove the cuts probably harder than anyone. The studio, they were willing to let the movie indulge pretty hard. But I felt like it’s at a manageable two-and-a-half hours. Let’s also not forget the credits are super long, the end credits. So the movie’s closer to two hours and 22 minutes.”
Of the cuts, he reveals Jena Malone, who was cast in an undisclosed role, was removed from the theatrical release and hopes she will return in the Ultimate Edition. He also dismisses any rumors regarding her role, but still remaining very tight-lipped on it, “I think we should keep it private, but it’s nothing that’s been talked about. She’s definitely not Robin or Batgirl. I’m happy to say that.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, a few roles will be receiving an expansion on their characters in the Ultimate Edition. Snyder also reveals a few cameos that will be included as well as a ton of Easter eggs.
He says,
“There’s a couple, like, Ahman Green, the running back from the Green Bay Packers, he’s in it. And C.T. Fletcher is like this bodybuilder muscle-guru from Compton, this awesome guy. He’s amazing, and he’s in it. And then there’s just a lot of these Easter Eggs in the Director’s Cut that I think are gonna be fun for everyone.”
EW adds that some of those Easter Eggs are meant to provide further set up for the DC Extended Universe, with Snyder adding this little tidbit: “There’s one giant one that I won’t tell you about yet that speaks to what’s gonna go on in the greater Justice League universe.”
When the news of the Ultimate Edition’s R-rating was first revealed, the vague caption simply read “sequences of violence.” Exactly how violent will it be? Charles Roven, one of the producers on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the larger DCEU, spoke on it.
“There’s not a lot of blood in our movies. The ratings board also judges their PG-13 and R ratings by what they consider to be a level of intensity and how much that intensity goes throughout the entire movie. There are some pretty intense scenes in Batman v Superman, and if they went on longer and had that same level of intensity, that might cause the ratings board to shift their rating.”
As for the R-rated superhero flick? Roven doesn’t see themselves moving towards those any time soon. Suicide Squad is currently PG-13 and EW is speculating that DC is still looking to reach the widest possible audience.
Deadpool was destined for an R-rating if they really wanted to do right by that character. Suicide Squad can be an R-rated property, but the title isn’t necessarily characterized by that level of maturity. And that’d likely be the only property that would warrant the R-rating.
Who knows? Things can and do change.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be out March 25, 2016.
Suicide Squad is out August 5, 2016.