The good news for Deadpool fans is that the violent, clearly R-rated test footage for Tim Miller’s movie version of the comic book has officially inspired 20th Century Fox to finally green light the movie. The bad news is, they have reportedly vetoed all the violent, clearly R-rated parts.
The latest report from the Schmoes Know podcast Meet the Press says the film will be PG-13, in a scoop that allegedly came from the director himself:
“I heard from the director (Tim Miller) that they finally figured out the script, and it was right before this was announced, that they figured out, and you guys are all going to hate this, that they figured out how to make it PG-13 and therefore not lose its soul – that’s a quote – of the script so they can make it.”
While it’s true that PG-13 movies are getting more violent than ever, and Deadpool would certainly be allowed to murder a lot of people on-screen and still be screened for kids (so long as there aren’t too many dismemberings or a lot of visible blood), the news is bound to be a disappointment for many fans who hoped that the leaked test footage finally meant that one of the studios was going to commit to making a superhero movie that wasn’t for everyone.
Then again, “not for everyone” isn’t music to the ears of studio heads, who want their movies seen by as many people as possible because… well, movies are expensive. Diminishing the potential audience for a theatrical release can have seriously negative consequences for the bottom line. A few superhero(-ish) movies have made a big splash at the box office – Wanted grossed $341 million worldwide, and Watchmen made a respectable but hardly impressive $185 million – but the majority of the comic book adaptations to go for a hard “R” were major flops. Even the good ones like Dredd.
So if they really are able to preserve the “soul” of Deadpool while sticking him in a PG-13 movie, we say more power to them. Just don’t screw it up!
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
