‘The Batman’ Director Always Wanted to Push PG-13 Limits: No R-Rated Cut Ever Existed

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Any comic book movie fan hoping Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” would be the first Caped Crusader film with an R rating was surely disappointed when Warner Bros.

confirmed Jan. 12 the film is rated PG-13 for “strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language and some suggestive material.” Rumors circulated for months about an R-rated “The Batman,” which fans viewed as a possibility since R-rated comic book tentpoles like “Deadpool” and “Logan” turned a profit.

However, Reeves always intended for “The Batman” to be PG-13.“In my mind, the movie was always going to be a gritty, edgy, noir, thrilling spectacle that was PG-13,” Reeves told Den of Geek. “That was always what it was, but I always knew that we’d be pushing the limits of what that could be, and so we didn’t really have to cut anything… I’m happy we got the rating because I want people to be able to come to see the movie.” Reeves stressed that no R-rated version of “The Batman” exists.

If anything, Reeves worried that pushing the limits of the PG-13 rating would tip “The Batman” over into R territory and he would then have to make cuts.“There isn’t some special cut of this movie where it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, here’s the R rating that you’ve been desperately wanting,'” Reeves said. “I didn’t have to suddenly start drastically cutting the movie or anything like that.”“The Batman’s” PG-13 ratings falls in line with other Caped Crusader films such as Zack Snyder’s “Batman v.