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Batman spinoff ‘Joker’ to be R-rated: Director
Not funny: The upcoming standalone villain movie Joker will be R-rated.
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A still from 'Joker' (DC Entertainment/File)
The upcoming standalone villain movie Joker will be R-rated, director Todd Phillips recently confirmed.
As reported by the IndieWire website, Phillips (Due Date, War Dogs) was seen responding to fan comments on his Instagram post that says he’s putting the “finishing touches” on the movie.
In the comments to the post, he notably responds to a curious fan who asks about the film’s rating. Phillips simply responds, “It will be Rated R. I’ve been asked this a lot. Just assumed people knew.”
Though the gritty and dark nature of the film makes an R rating seem appropriate, superhero movies are commonly kept rather clean, with an overwhelming majority being rated no higher than PG-13 regardless of the film studio.
The low ratings make the flicks more accessible to families with children, but they also set constraints on what the director can do with the movie in terms of violence and language.
Joker follows in the footsteps of R-rated superhero successes like 2009’s Watchmen and 2016’s Deadpool.
Slated for release this October, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the role of Arthur Fleck, a failed comedian turned unhinged criminal. Set in Gotham City in 1981, Phillip has expressed his vision for the movie to be reminiscent of Martin Scorsese’s 1970s gangster flicks -- which is extremely palpable in the movie’s trailer released in April.
Read also: Revealed: The beginnings of Gotham arch-villain the Joker
Phoenix has also expressed his view of the movie’s overall tone, which he describes as feeling more “like a low-budget indie [movie] than a giant comic book movie”. Co-star March Maron recently described the movie as a “character study of a mentally ill person.” (ayr/kes)
