Although Deadpool and Logan managed to make a killing at the box office, R-rated superhero films probably won’t outnumber their more kid-friendly counterparts anytime soon. PG ratings will continue to be handed out like so many alter egos, as filmmakers work to keep their blockbusters open to as many demographics as possible—how else could they recoup the CGI budget? But for the first woman-led superhero film in the DCEU, Patty Jenkins wanted to make sure the little girls reading comics could sit alongside their mothers at a screening. The Wonder Woman director tells Cinema Blend that while the WWI setting practically required a PG-13 rating, she avoided branching out into rated R territory to ensure that even the youngest of fans could attend.
I cared a lot about it never being an R-rating. And I totally support the movies that do have an R-rating, but in this case I was very aware that little girls were going to want to see the film, and I was very protective of that. So it had to not be rated R to me. I would have been happy to go for PG, but it’s World War I, so we couldn’t.
Given how understated the marketing for the latest DCEU film had been, it’s heartening to see the director and star talk up just how the film will speak to audiences that have been historically overlooked when it comes to comic book-based films. Diana Prince herself, Gal Gadot, even took the time to remind everyone that the Justice League co-founder is a feminist. Wonder Woman debuts June 2, which you can watch in mixed company, no matter what this guy thinks.