Last month, the MPAA announced that the extended cut of BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE had garnered an R rating for “sequences of violence.” Public opinion has been pretty split on whether or not we really "need" an R-rated Batman/Superman flick, but Entertainment Weekly has just gotten some details on what's actually contained within. For instance, Jena Malone's character has been cut entirely from the theatrical cut of the film. Read on to see what some of the cast and crew think!
Ben Affleck on the R-rated cut:
I’m a parent of young kids, and I feel like I wouldn’t want to have a Batman v Superman that I couldn’t show to my younger kids. But on the same token, as an adult, I like to see movies that are R-rated. I think nowadays because we have so many means of distribution and ways that we can do different things, it’s the creative solution to a creative challenge. You can have multiple versions and I can show my son and my daughters this movie and feel confident that the stuff isn’t too crazy, and then grownups can see [the] larger version, [which is like] the red-band trailer. They can see the more adult version of that movie.
Zack Snyder on Jena Malone, and other characters that have been cut:
I think we should keep [Jena Malone's character] private, but it’s nothing that’s been talked about. She’s definitely not Robin or Batgirl. I’m happy to say that. There’s a couple, like, Ahman Green, the running back from the Green Bay Packers, he’s in it. And C.T. Fletcher is like this bodybuilder muscle-guru from Compton, this awesome guy. He’s amazing, and he’s in it. And then there’s just a lot of these Easter Eggs in the Director’s Cut that I think are gonna be fun for everyone. There’s one giant one that I won’t tell you about yet that speaks to what’s gonna go on in the greater Justice League universe.
Producer Charles Roven regarding the violence of the R-rated cut:
There’s not a lot of blood in our movies. The ratings board also judges their PG-13 and R ratings by what they consider to be a level of intensity and how much that intensity goes throughout the entire movie. There are some pretty intense scenes in BATMAN V SUPERMAN, and if they went on longer and had that same level of intensity, that might cause the ratings board to shift their rating.
So does that do anything to sway your opinion or excitement about the R-rated cut of BATMAN V SUPERMAN? Granted, we haven't seen the movie so it's hard to tell how "intense" things get, but if it's not a bunch of gore or F-bombs, I'm curious to see what was so extreme that the MPAA deemed it R-worthy. In the end though, I just hope it's a good film. If either cut lives up to expectations then we're in good shape!
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE opens on March 25, 2016.