DEADPOOL Director Tim Miller Discusses Possibilities of an R-Rated X-FORCE Film
Last Week, 20th Century Fox officially announced that they were moving forward with a Deadpool sequel with director Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds. This was a big “well, duh” moment, but I guess it’s nice to hear it officially confirmed again.
With the success of the film, I felt that it would open the door to more R-rated superhero movies. It sounds like the next Wolverine film will be rated R, and there’s been talk of the X-Men spinoff movie X-Force getting an R-rating and even a Suicide Squad sequel that could find itself with an R-rating.
During a recent interview with Collider, Miller talked about X-Force and the possibilities of doing an R-rated version:
“I’ll just say I’d like it to be an R-rated movie, but I’ve always been very realistic. We’re not making fine art here. This is commerce. So if for some reason there was a story that needed to be bigger and needed to be at a certain budget, and it didn’t warrant an R-rated budget, although it’s harder to make that argument now after Deadpool, but let’s say we were saying it before Deadpool came out; I understand that. I’m not one of those directors who goes ‘I want it because I want it!’ and ‘It should be because I think it should be!’ There’s economics at work here, and I would like it to be R-rated.
“And I know there was some talk around Hollywood, and James Gunn talked about it, and I agree very much with what he said. I think Deadpool worked because of what it was. I think Deadpool worked because it was funny. I think Deadpool worked because it didn’t take itself seriously. That’s why it worked as an R-rated film. I’m not sure any superhero movie will work as an R-rated film. I’m not sure some members of the public are going to be happy with the blood and gore if it’s not balanced with humor and the other stuff.”
Look, the important thing these studios have to remember is that Deadpool wasn't successful because it was rated R. Deadpool was successful because it was actually true to the comic and the character. As long as they stay true to those things while developing their films and deliver a great movie, the rating doesn't matter. They shouldn't even be thinking about the rating. They should be thinking about just making the best possible movie about these characters. The rating is really just a formality.