Venom director isn’t ruling out an unrated cut on the home release

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming VENOM over the last 24 hours, especially around the recently-confirmed PG-13 rating. When the movie was announced last year a gritty, R-rated take was teased, but clearly, the goals were shifted just a tad. Director Ruben Fleischer assures the movie will still push the rating as far as it can go, and in a recent interview said that depending on how people respond to it we may get that unrated cut that takes it even further.

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Fleischer was speaking with Fandango recently where he talked about all things VENOM, from the tone to that new Eminem song. They then touched on the character’s knack for violence, including the biting off of heads and limbs, and the director said he wasn’t ruling anything out when it came to an unrated cut when the movie arrives on Digital and Blu-ray.

I wouldn't rule anything out. We'll have to see where it lands, I guess, but I wouldn't rule anything out.

Of course, that’s hardly a guarantee we will be getting an unrated cut for the home release, and it’s far too early to tell if the movie even needs an unrated cut. Fleischer talked about how the goal from day one was to deliver a “darker, edgier, grittier” comic book movie, and he believes thanks to Tom Hardy the movie achieves that. What also helped Fleischer get the movie to that place was taking inspiration from the horror genre, and he dished on what movies inspired him when doing VENOM, listing classic late-‘70s and ‘80s horror flicks like AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and the work of John Carpenter.

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As a comic book fan, I've seen all the comic book movies. I didn't have to watch them specifically for this. I was more interested in the kind of classic ‘80s horror movies. American Werewolf in London was a big influence on me, just because of the experience of being taken over by another. You know, [David] Cronenberg and John Carpenter, I just love his classic horror movies. Aesthetically, the director of photography and I talked a lot about the look of those films. Those were probably the ones that come to mind first as far as the look and the feeling of the movie.

There are many who are probably bummed they aren't getting an R-rated VENOM in theaters, but the movie aims to do a lot with it's PG-13 and that will probably be enough to make an impact. When the movie comes out we can see just how far they pushed the envelope, and seeing how that goes an unrated cut could be a lot of fun to see. But, who knows, maybe the MPAA allows for a few decapitations before they issue an R-rating. 

VENOM is in theaters October 5 and also stars Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed.