Deadpool Writer Says Rating Could’ve Been PG13
When Deadpool came out to theaters last year, it was in many ways a revelation. Sure there had been R-rated comic book adaptations in the past, but none were true “superhero” fare until Deadpool. So when it made over $140 million in its first week, it opened a lot of eyes, as that’s the highest-grossing “R” rated movie in history now. But, according to Rhett Reese, the “R” may have been nice, but it wasn’t the thing that made Deadpool what it was:
“Well I think a lot of people just felt like the R-rating had everything to do with it,” Rheese said to SuperHeroHype. “While I agree to a certain extent, I personally feel like a PG-13 ‘Deadpool’ still would have succeeded because I think it’s more about the character. You can’t just slap an R-rating on something and have it be good. That’s definitely one element of a lot of other elements. I think people are attributing a little too much to that. That said, having the ability to break those rules with an R-rating did help us.”
Many fans have stated that to have a PG-13 rating would’ve “hindered” the film as Deadpool is very vulgar and insulting, so this was likely the best option, but, given the team behind the film, not to mention Ryan Reynolds, they probably could’ve made it work.