In the wake of Deadpool‘s success, we’re seeing a lot of rumors and promises pop up in regards to further R-rated superhero films. Todd McFarlane is still tooting his dark and violent Spawn reboot horn. Word is that the initial rating for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was an R and director Zack Snyder will be delivering that cut to Blu-ray after a PG-13 cut hits theaters next month. There are also rumors of Fox’s eventual X-Force film possibly bearing the higher rating.
While we already expect the eventual Deadpool sequel to be rated-R, a lot of signs are now pointing towards Wolverine 3 being R-rated as well. Will they pan out? I think so, but not in the way that fans are hoping. As comic book and comic book movie fans, we get promised a lot of things that never actually come to pass. Not to be a downer, but the last time I checked, I don’t have extended cuts of The Avengers, The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, or Avengers: Age of Ultron sitting on my shelf. All were promised, none were delivered.
Sure, we occasionally get those longer or alternate versions. Fox released Bryan Singer’s alternate cut of X-Men: Days of Future Past and an unrated cut of James Mangold’s The Wolverine. Warner Bros. put out a longer version of Green Lantern and eventually issued Zack Snyder’s “ultimate cut” of Watchmen. So what does it all mean?
It means that James Mangold will probably shoot the upcoming Untitled Wolverine 3 film with no specific rating in mind. Mangold, Jackman, the cast, and crew will go off this April and shoot the film they want to make. After that, I’m betting we get a hard PG-13 version in theaters next year, followed by a more violent (and, rumor has it, vulgar) cut on home video.
Sure, Deadpool made it into cinemas with an R-rating and was aimed squarely at adults, but Wolverine isn’t Deadpool. Wolverine is a powerhouse moneymaker of a character and at the end of the day, money talks. I think we’re likely in for our most character-accurate Wolverine film to date, complete with an oft-requested berserker rage sequence. I think we’ll also be getting a loose adaptation of “Old Man Logan” and possibly get to see Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) grace the screen again. I also think we’ll get an R-rated version of Wolverine 3…just not in theaters.
