Comic book films have gotten bolder as time marched on and some properties would eventually cross over into more mature content with an R-rating. The biggest story this year is, of course, the massive success of Deadpool & Wolverine and its no holds barred on language and violence. With a worldwide box office of over $1.3 billion, Deadpool & Wolverine has been a huge success, and it’s also done pretty well on Disney+. According to Disney, the film has garnered 19.4 million views globally in its first six days on the streaming service.
James Gunn has also been able to let loose in the DCEU with his movie The Suicide Squad, which also led to the adult-oriented TV spin-off Peacemaker. Deadline is reporting that Gunn will not shy away from R-rated content in the new DCU. When talking with Collider, he was inquired if he would first see how an R-rated movie would perform before committing to exploring more. Gunn responded,
We’re not about that. We’re not about ‘See how it does.’ We’ve got one opportunity to take these characters and really press forward and do what we believe. I am a great believer that if we tell good, authentic stories, if a movie does well or doesn’t do as well, if you keep with that same philosophy, that you’re going to build a universe that people are going to love and want to be a part of for a long time.”
He continues,
It’s not about testing out to see if this thing works. It’s just about telling a story. If a story is going to be R-rated, we’re totally okay with that. If it’s going to be PG, PG-13, or G, I don’t care — whatever is worthy of the story, that’s what we’re going to do.”
He also cited the success of Deadpool & Wolverine and how “people love that character” and “people love that format.” Furthermore, he says that there are already projects in development at DC that will likely be stamped with an R-rating. Gunn added, “You know Peacemaker is unrated, basically. So, we have all sorts. I like the idea of doing all sorts of different things.”