Black Adam producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn said that the first cut of the upcoming DC Extended Universe film was given an R-rating due to the eponymous antihero's kill streak.
In an interview with Collider, Garcia stated that the production team "wanted to make sure that [they] honored the character," saying that a Black Adam movie that did not include "his aggression and violence" wouldn't have been an authentic adaptation. "So we always went into this knowing that we were going to push it as far as we did," he said. "We knew it was going to be a collaborative process with the [Motion Picture Association of America] to finally get it to where we were able, to get that rating, but we were able to pull it off. But it was really important for us to do that. And that's something Dwayne [Johnson, who plays Black Adam] was very committed to as well."
Flynn added that it took some time for the movie to get a PG-13 rating after talks with the MPAA, though Garcia, Flynn and Johnson wouldn't give up the more compelling parts of Black Adam. He went on to say that there were personal moments from the film that had to be sacrificed, but the production team never cut a scene, as well as describing some of the movie's action-based moments. "You can't play it safe, and you have to go for it," said Flynn. "And I think we have four or five of those [moments in the film]. At one point we had about ten, and we were able to find some compromise with the MPAA on that."
Black Adam Pushes PG-13 Limits
Garcia and Flynn's comments tie into a statement made by Garcia in 2021, in which he said Black Adam's PG-13 ratingwouldn't have any impact on its kill count. He also affirmed that the film hadn't been forced into that specific rating. According to Garcia, Black Adam will exceed a PG-13 superhero movie's limits, remarking that the kill count is "very high."
Johnson himself also touched upon Teth-Adam's brutality in an August interview, saying, "What makes Black Adam unique and different is that he lives by a code. If you attempt to harm his people, his family, his country, or him, he will rip you in half. He will literally grab you by the neck, and then grab you by the thigh, and rip your body into two pieces."
Black Adam arrives in theaters on Oct. 21.
Source: Collider
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