The Batman has officially been rated and it may disappoint audiences looking for a more mature, violent film.

According to FilmRatings.comThe Batman sports a PG-13 age restriction for "strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material." Given the dark and gritty tone of the film, this rating may be lower than some fans were expecting. Given that Batman seemingly spends the film hunting The Riddler, a puzzle-minded serial killer, many expected the latest DC Comics adaption to at least sport a PG-16 rating.

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Despite the grim tone set by The Batman's promotional material, the early rumors that the film would be rated "R" were dispelled by a new LEGO set. The iconic toy brand has a policy of not producing sets based on properties and franchises that sport an R rating. The very existence of LEGO kits based on The Batman was enough to conclude that the film would likely be PG-13. Matt Reeves' take on Bruce Wayne isn't the first time a Batman film has earned a PG-13 age restriction. In fact, every live-action adaption of the character, from Tim Burton's films to Christopher Nolans Dark Knight trilogy, has been granted the same rating, citing similar reasons.

While other DC Comics adaptions like The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey and Zack Snyder's Justice League have all been rated R, The Batman is slightly different in that it's set outside of the current DC Expanded Universe. This was a conscious decision made by Reeves, who wanted to "create an iteration with a personal aspect to which wasn't obliged to 'connect with all these other things' in the DCEU."

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While The Batman mark's Robert Pattinson's first outing in the cowl, the actor already has several ideas of how the franchise could expand. "I've made a kind of map for where Bruce's psychology would grow over two more movies," he said. "I would love to do it." Producer Dylan Clarke echoed these sentiments, noting, "As the first standalone Batman in ten years, the hope is we can lay a foundation that you can build stories upon."

The Batman releases in theaters on March 4 but Warner Bros. CEO Jason Kilar recently noted that the studio is aware of the current surge of COVID-19 cases. Speaking to a potential delay, Kilar said, "We’re certainly paying attention to everything going on with Omicron. We feel good about the date right now. We’re gonna watch it day by day."

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Source: FilmRatings.com