Deadpool writers explain how the film was almost rated PG-13
' We sold our soul for a few minutes'
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Your support makes all the difference.Upon its release, not even the most liberal box-office analyst could have predicted Deadpool’s gigantic success. In a matter of weeks, the film became the highest grossing R-Rated film of all-time, earning more in the US than Batman v Superman.
However, while Deadpool relishes in being aimed at an older audience, it wasn’t always going to be R-Rated: at one stage, Fox was debating whether to give the film a PG-13 rating.
“Fox asked us at one point ‘Hey, write the PG-13 version and we can make a decision based off that’,” writes Rhett Reese told Den of Geek.
“We did it. We sold our soul for a few minutes. But interestingly the PG-13 version is not that different from the R version. The language is reduced, the sexual content is reduced, but most of the action and the structure of the movie and the scenes were all the same.
“It was up to Fox to look at it and decided ‘Should we make this?’ and thankfully - thankfully only in retrospect - they didn’t.”
Interestingly, the success of Deadpool has not managed to persuade DC and Warner Bros to pursue an R-Rated Suicide Squad despite many fans believing the adult themes would suit the villainous team-up film.
However, its success has led to Wolverine 3 becoming R-Rated, as well as an extended R-Rated cut of Batman v Superman being released.
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