Venom: Let There Be Carnage star Tom Hardy said an R-rating was in the consideration for the film before it went with a PG-13.
"100% we considered it," Hardy told ComicBook.com. "With all of these symbiotes, you know, you consider it. You read the comic books and it is extreme, but that's not what we're here to do. We came here to make a movie which, and correct me if I'm wrong, I mean, there's a law and a rule into creating a movie that's accessible to a lot of people, as well as that caters for everybody, including the hardcore fans. So I hope the hardcore fans at least take home that they look at Carnage and go, 'Yeah, I recognize Carnage from the comic books. I'm happy with that.' And yeah, no, we didn't bite everybody's head off, but we did stick a tongue down someone's throat pretty... and managed to come in at a level of rating which is reputable so that grandma can come but also I'll come watch it too."
Hardy's comments echo those from Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis, who recently said the film could "of course" gone in an even darker and more adult direction. With its story centering on Eddie Brock (Hardy) and Venom's battle with the serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) and his own symbiote, Carnage, Let There Be Carnage lends itself to an R-rating, arguably more so than the first Venom movie. Like Hardy, however, Serkis defended the decision to go PG-13, saying, "I think we have pushed to the very very limits, the danger and darkness, and the threat and the menace of Carnage."
Released in 2018, the first Venom overcome not-so-great reviews to gross $856.1 million at the box office. And while it's possible an R-rated Let There Be Carnage could've matched or exceeded that result, a PG-13 version has a better shot, which was no doubt a major factor in the decision to go with that rating. After all, an R-rating typically limits the box office potential of any movie, with massively popular R-rated comic book adaptations like Joker, Logan and the Deadpool films remaining the exception and not the rule.
Given that theater attendance is still down amidst the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the surge of the delta variant, Sony is probably feeling all the more justified in its decision to keep the Venom franchise PG-13 for the time being. The studio only just bumped Let There Be Carnage's release date up to a less crowded weekend after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' bigger-than-expected box office opening, which should further bolster its financial prospects.
Audiences can decide for themselves if Venom: Let There Be Carnage needed an R-rating or not when the film opens exclusively in theaters on Oct. 1.
Source: ComicBook.com