It is clear that R rated superhero movies have an audience if they are solid films. This was proven when Deadpool was released in 2016 and made over seven hundred million dollars. Logan was released the following year and made over six hundred million dollars. For R rated movies, that’s incredible. For superhero movies that’s, amazingly, not an enormous amount of money. Then, Deadpool 2 made seven hundred eighty five million dollars in 2018. Infamously, Joker, technically a comic book movie while not truly a superhero movie, made over a billion dollars becoming the highest grossing R rated movie of all time. It was recently dethroned by Deadpool and Wolverine which grossed 1.33 billion. This trend did not continue with Joker 2, but there’s reasons for that we won’t get into here.
In five out of the last eight years, there have been R comic book rated movies released that were very successful. Audiences have shown studios that we’re ready for more. I know I certainly am. The prospect of seeing some of the more violent DC characters in R rated films is very exciting, so let’s dive into what we could see in the coming years.
The Authority
The Authority is a seldom known or talked about group within DC. Their history is muddy as they were originally called Stormwatch and existed outside of DC Comics. Essentially, they’re a meaner version of the Justice League with different powers. They are perfectly willing to kill and one of their members, Midnighter, is particularly brutal. Truly, they can only be done justice in an R rated environment.
Deathstroke and Bane
There was a wild report from The Hollywood Reporter claiming a Deathstroke and Bane team up movie was in development and, interestingly, this has not been debunked by Gunn. Gunn loves to go to social media to debunk rumors and reports that have no basis in reality, but he stayed quiet for this one. Personally, I am one hundred percent on board with this idea. Deathstroke is long deserving of the spotlight and a comic book accurate Bane joining him would only brighten it. I would love to see Deathstroke slicing and shooting his way through scores of enemies while Bane bashes and smashes his way alongside him. It gives me chills.
Lanterns
This is more of a TVMA situation than an R rating, but it’s basically the same. I find this one a little less likely, but many sources have reported that Lanterns is going to have a vibe similar to True Detective. If that’s the case, they could be viewing and solving some gruesome murders. I doubt the Green Lanterns themselves will be doing much that will have an R rated look to it, but the villains may. Yellow Lanterns feed off of fear and Red Lanterns, if they show up, are powered by rage, two emotions that could definitely create some R rated imagery.
Lobo
There have been rumors galore about a potential Lobo movie or series with many people going as far as saying Jason Momoa is going to play The Main Man himself. None of these rumors have any credibility, but if Lobo is going to be adapted, it will have to be an R rated piece for it to stay true to the character. Lobo’s excessive violence is notorious. He rips the limbs off of his enemies, blows them to pieces, shoots holes in their heads. Making a PG-13 Lobo movie or show would just be an injustice. It would almost be as bad as making a PG-13 Venom series with no Spider-Man.
Plastic Man
I like this one a lot. Plastic Man is essentially a very weird version of Reed Richards. There were reports a while back that a Plastic Man movie was in development and the rumor mill said that Ben Schwartz, best known for his role in Parks and Rec as the ridiculous Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, would be playing him. If that casting ever comes to fruition, it would be perfect. I don’t think Plastic Man would need to be rated R for violence, although I wouldn’t mind it, but so it does not have to hold back its comedy. Plastic Man would work best as a comedy first and superhero movie second, and making the movie PG-13 to try and reach a wider audience would limit its potential.
The Brave and The Bold
This is more wishful thinking than possible reality, but I’ve always thought an R rated Batman movie would be incredible. A Batman movie where Batman isn’t limited by PG-13 guidelines where he’s snapping bad guys’ legs, throwing batarangs into their arms, and breaking all sorts of other bones would be awesome and could give way to a moral discussion on his methods. Imagine the Joker being fully unleashed in all his R rated terror. Maybe this type of movie would be better saved for the darker, more realistic setting of The Batman Epic Crime Saga as I’m guessing the DCU wants to differentiate itself from the Snyder brand of darkness the DCEU adapted. I would love to see Pattinson’s Batman stop holding back and really beat up some bad guys.
What DCU movies would you like to see be rated R? Let me know below!