We are this close to finally seeingJustice Leaguein theaters, DC fans. The movie arrives on November 17, which is just over a month from now. That means the marketing campaign is officially ramping up, but the movie has been given an official rating from the MPAA.Justice Leaguewill follow suit with the rest of the DCEU, as the movie has officially been rated PG-13.
The rating was revealed via the official Warner Bros. site forJustice League. The movie earns its rating for featuring “sequences of Sci-Fi violence and action,” which has been made pretty clear in the trailers we’ve seen for the movie. But this makes it pretty clear that they are keeping the language clean. And we probably aren’t going to see anything sexual. Just some fancy, expensive-looking comic book violence on the big screen. Batman,Aquaman,Wonder Womanand the rest of the gang are going to be taking down a whole bunch of Parademons.
WhileJustice Leaguegetting a PG-13 rating isn’t at all surprising in itself, there’s something well worth noting here. Joss Whedon has been very busy doing reshoots and editing the movie ever since taking over for Zack Snyder a few months ago. He had been shooting and tweaking things up until very recently, but now that the movie has officially been rated, that means he’s done with it. Once the movie is rated, it’s more or less in the can. Sound, color and things of that sort can be changed, but the movie that is being presented must stay the same. So, more or less, we know thatJustice League is in the can. Despite a whole lot of turbulence, Whedon got the job done.
Following the success ofWonder Woman, the tone of theDCEU moviesgoing forward is going to be a bit lighter. More fun. Prior to this, Warner Bros. interconnecteduniverse of DC movieshas been quite a bit darker than what we’ve seen from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still, they’ve managed to keep the movies at a PG-13 level so far. Though,Suicide Squaddid feel like something that could have easily benefited from being R-rated. And there is the ultimate edition cut ofBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justicethat’s R-rated. But their theatrical releases have all been PG-13 andJustice Leaguewill be no different.
A PG-13 rating means thatJustice Leaguecan reach the widest potential audience. And it’s going to need it. Every superhero movie is expensive, but given all of the reshoots and the massive scope of this movie, we’re guessing Warner Bros. spent a whole lot of cash on this one. So they need it to be a huge hit in order to make their money back. CanJustice Leaguekeep the hot streak going afterWonder Woman? Or will it be another divisive superhero flick that calls into question the direction of the DC universe moving forward? We’ll know soon enough.
