Venom 2 Going For R Rated Status

The first Venom film may not have got the R rating many people wanted, but it seems its sequel may have the classification it arguably deserves - and it's all thanks to the recent Joker film.

In the United States, R-rated films require everyone under the age of 17 to be accompanied by an adult due to 'strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity'. While the UK doesn't use the same system, it's similar to a film that's classed as a 15.

Tom Hardy - among many others - was keen for Venom to be rated as such, so that the franchise could stay true to its dark and gruesome comic book origins, but eventually it was classed as PG-13, supposedly in order to reach wider audiences.

DC Films

However, now Venom producer Matt Tolmach has said the film's sequel will consider an R rating, using Joker's recent box office success as an example of audiences responding well to such films.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, Tolmach said: "I mean, I think you always have to think about [it], now that that works. Having said that, our movie worked really well.

"Our franchise exists as it is, and I don't think anybody is looking to just say, 'Hey, they [did it]!' We have a place in the world. So it isn't like suddenly everybody's considering what to do with the rating.

"[...] I think what Joker does is it tells you that you can succeed. For a very long time, that was the narrative. And Deadpool sort of wrestled that to the turf, and then Logan, but for a long time, that was considered totally forbidden.

"[...] So you know, I think it's the greatest thing in the world that R-rated movies are being embraced by massive audiences. And it just means that there are more opportunities for that kind of storytelling."

Warner Bros

This will come as good news to Hardy, who in the first film starred as Eddie Brock - a journalist who gains superpowers after becoming bound to an alien symbiote.

He'll be returning for round two, with Sony producer Amy Pascal confirming to Fandango that Hardy 'will be back, magnificently playing that character as no one else can'.

He'll be joined by Woody Harrelson, who will star as another symbiote, Carnage.

Mind you, you'll still have a bit of a wait yet, as the film is currently set to be released on 2 October 2020.

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, venom

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman