Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
Venom: Let There Be Carnage nearly received an R rating, pushing boundaries of a PG-13 Marvel Film.
Many hardcore Marvel fans expected 2018’s Venom to follow the violent path of Deadpool and Logan.
Although Venom wasn’t bloodless, it wasn’t as gory as it could’ve been.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage follows the same pattern.
Nevertheless, insiders reveal that the movie is quite brutal.
A source observed:
PG-13 doesn’t mean what it used to. PG-13 films can be more graphic than before.
Indeed, few would argue that Marvel Studios’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier held its punches.
However, one of the first two movies rated PG-13, 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, was quite gruesome.
In Temple of Doom, director Steven Spielberg showed villain Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) ripping a man’s heart out.
Image: Sony Pictures
Since then, though, the PG-13 rating has developed the stigma of being watered down.
According to Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis, the PG-13 decision was a financial one.
He elaborated on the choice:
You could go down an R-rated adult version of this. Of course you could. You could have done that with the last film. But we wanted to reach a big audience with this and… there are several rules you have to abide by. However, having said that, I think we have pushed to the very limits [with] the danger and darkness and the threat and the menace of Carnage.
The Deadpool franchise and Logan aside, R-rated superhero films don’t really break the bank.
Yes, Joker scored over $1 billion globally, but that was the first for any R movie.
Furthermore, it was an adult drama that transcended its comic-book roots.
All of Marvel Studios’ movies were PG-13, too, just like Sony’s Spider-Man offerings.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Nearly Rated R, Pushes Limits Of Marvel PG-13 Film
Image: Sony Pictures
Serkis added that Venom: Let There Be Carnage doesn’t need an R, anyway.
Serkis said:
Just because you don’t see so much gore — perhaps there’s not so much blood or… seeing heads being bitten off — you can still suggest that. The suggestion, leaving it to the audience’s imagination, can be just as powerful.
Moreover, Serkis promised:
It’s certainly not shying away from the darkness. And the real heart of Carnage as a character isn’t compromised at all.
In Marvel Comics, Venom has been PG-13 as well.
Sony unleashes Venom: Let There Be Carnage on October 1.
Related: Venom Headed For MCU As Villain In Spider-Man 4
