The following contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, now in theaters.
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are debating the latest franchise entry, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, thanks to its PG-13 rating.
On social media, many are questioning whether a PG-13 rating was too lax, given the film's horror elements in comparison to past MCU entries. Others, meanwhile, are pointing to PG-13 movies outside of the MCU as evidence that, while the Doctor Strange sequel may be pushing boundaries for Marvel Studios, it's not pushing the boundaries of the rating as a whole.
Multiverse of Madness has long been billed as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first truly scary film. In fact, original director Scott Derrickson's comments on the matter were taken so literally that Marvel Studios President/Marvel CCO Kevin Feige had to offer some clarification in 2019. "I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s a horror film, but...it’ll be a big MCU film with scary sequences in it," he explained. "I mean, there are horrifying sequences in [Raiders of the Lost Ark] that I, as a little kid, would [cover my eyes] when their faces melted. Or Temple of Doom, of course, or Gremlins, or Poltergeist. These are the movies that invented the PG-13 rating, by the way. They were PG and then they were like, ‘We need another [rating].’ But that’s fun. It’s fun to be scared in that way, and not a horrific, torturous way, but a way that is legitimately scary -- because Scott Derrickson is quite good at that -- but scary in the service of an exhilarating emotion."
In Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange meets a universe-hopping teenager named America Chavez and soon discovers her abilities are in the sights of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, who wants to use them to reunite with her children across the Multiverse. In trying to defend America, Strange finds himself in several alternate universes, including one featuring the MCU's Illuminati. After America learns to channel her powers, she's able to show Scarlet Witch the monster she's become, prompting her to destroy the Darkhold that corrupted her in the first place. However, this comes at the cost of Wanda's own life.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now in theaters.
Source: Twitter