We already knew that The Batman would be taking the iconic DC Comics vigilante down a pretty dark route, but it sounds like Matt Reeves' upcoming reboot will be even grimmer than expected.
The MPAA officially announced that the movie will be rated PG-13 for “strong violence, disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material” back in January, but the British equivalent, The BBFC, has now shared a far more specific breakdown of what these "disturbing" scenes will entail.
Mild spoilers follow.
So, The Batman will feature: "People in states of terror and distress after being placed in elaborate death traps," as well as "gun threat and acts of terrorism." We will also see "shootings, fistfights, electrocutions, and sequences in which people are repeatedly punched or bludgeoned. There is occasional sight of blood and injury detail. Mutilated bodies are found at crime scenes, and there is sight of a severed thumb."
We're not done yet! There will be "infrequent strong language ('f**k') as well as milder terms including 'prick', 'dick', 'fricking', 'bastard', 'son of a bitch', 'shit', 'God', 'hell', 'Jesus', and 'Christ'. Those moderate sex refences include "a sequence in which a man watches a woman changing her clothes through her window. References are made to suicide and mental health. People are seen administering an unnamed illegal drug."
Previous depictions of Batman have been pretty violent, of course (Ben Affleck's take on The Dark Knight branded criminals, for example), but it really does sound like Reeves' film is going to push the boundaries of that PG-13 rating.
We'll find out for ourselves soon enough, as The Batman is set to hit theaters on March 4.