More and more news about Hugh Jackman's next adventure as Wolverine is slowly becoming more and more widespread, and the latest is really rather interesting. In a recent interview with MTV, Jackman revealed that there is a good chance that 'The Wolverine' will have a "hard R-rating" when it hits theaters.

"There’s such great temptation to make an R-rated Wolverine. I’ve always felt that. I know a lot of fans would like that. I totally get it. If there was ever a superhero that was going to be R-rated, it’s Wolverine. So my thing is, which [director] James Mangold and I talked about, is let’s not put it off the table. There’s even a talk of us doing two versions, as in finding a way for us to do both as you shoot it, which could be really cool."

What this would likely mean is that Mangold and Jackman's R-rated 'The Wolverine' would likely up the ante on the violence and the sexual content to make a darker, more thought provoking Wolverine film; but is this what needs to happen to make a "good" 'Wolverine' movie? If you've read any of Wolverine's ongoing series like the Claremont and Miller's Wolverine mini series, or even the recent Wolverine ongoing by Jason Aaron, you'll likely noticed the dark characterizations of Logan and his supporting cast.

Ultimately, Wolverine is a very dark, tortured character who has endured a colossal amount of death in his lifetime, and this isn't something that has been captured yet on the big screen. However, as dark and tortured as he is, Wolverine is still a comic book character. Each year toy stores across the country sell thousands of Wolverine action figures to young kids because he is a very popular, main stream comic book superhero, so by making a hard R-rated 'Wolverine' movie the filmmaker might run the risk of disregarding one of 'Wolverine's' core audience.

A few years back Warner Brother's 'Watchmen' was released with a hard R- rating and many parents forgot to make sure that the movie was for kids before they brought them to the theater. Little did they know, that these superheroes were not for kids. The same thing (albeit more recently) happened with 'Kick-Ass.' Yes, 'Kick-Ass' was a movie featuring a group of kids who run around in spandex costumes trying to fight crime, but it's not a movie for young children. However, neither of these two films featured already main stream characters in their movies.

Characters like Dr. Manhattan or Hit-Girl were not already household names, which is why both these films could get away with a hard R- rating. Yet a character like Wolverine is a household name and has been featured in films that have been targeted at a younger audience, so would making 'The Wolverine' an R-rated movie now be a good idea, or is this just going to prevent the film from reaching the greatest number of people?

What do you think of the idea of an R-rated 'Wolverine' movie?

Source: MTV

Wolverine... Rated R... He was designed for that rating!

O_O this is already sounding better than wolverine origins, that was like a pg movie

As long as its a good movie what does it matter what the rating is?? Wolverine stabbed a ton of people in the X-Films and they weren't R-Rated

If wolverine were to do the things he does in the comics in a film setting that movie would have an R Rating so it makes sense to me. I thought they should of made the first one rated R since this is wolverine before the x-men when he was much more violent. It just makes sense.

ok.
BB

About dam time, iam tired of Wolverine being toned down

Although the new Batman movies aren't R, they are much too dark and violent for many parents to allow their children to see--children to whom Batman toys are being sold. An actual R rating might keep a larger group of kids away initially, but I hardly see it as a drastic difference. As long as the movie is good and the use of the R rating isn't cheap and pandering, it will likely get embraced.

Although, the over-the-top violence in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (the video game, not the movie--calm down) was awesome. So, maybe I'm wrong on that last point.

Rated R sometime don't mean good movie look what happen to the Punisher.

That's a step. Now try making it not suck like that other Wolverine movie did.

Dude has knives that pop out of his hands.

Furthermore the only risk of making a movie R is losing action figure sales (I know right? Still?). But Wolverine is popular enough where Fox wont have to worry about that.

But to reiterate my initial point...

Dude has knives that pop out of his hands.

I've personally never been drawn to Wolverine as a character. He was (and I guess still is) cool as a member of the X-Men, but as a stand-alone character, I was never intrigued enough to follow along. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was not to blame for this. that movie was a stink bomb wrapped in three tons of canon-defying horse crap. when it comes to the big names in Marvel-dome, Wolverine never comes to mind for me, even though I know he's a hugely popular character.

that being said, I would love to see a deeper, more thoughtful exploration into the things that make Wolverine an interesting character (shadowed past, quick to violence, wants to do good but trained to be a feral weapon). I don't, however, think an R-rating is necessary to get there. if the rating only provides violence for violence's sake, what's the point? The Dark Knight was one of the best crime movies (not superhero movies) of all time, and they got there at PG-13. if they're looking to produce something with substance and that vision requires an R-rating, I say go for it. if they're looking to boost up the rating to make another superficial, non-sense smashing of my hopes for a good follow-up to X-Men 3 and just want a higher rating to show some sex and/or violence, I'll save my $25 (because you know this thing will be in 3-D) and go rent Inception. again.

If a parent allows their child to watch a movie without looking at the rating, they officially waive all rights to complain about the content, in my opinion. They put ratings on movies for that very reason.

My view would be, if being R-rated makes the film better, that is if the story and the tone of the film would rather fit a more mature rating then I think it's a good thing. Having it on the table does at least allow them to explore all avenues in their storytelling in the film, which can only be a good thing. For example I guess, you could never have half the stuff that happened in Barry-Windsor Smith's Weapon X happen back in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it would just be to violent for the PG-13 film.

So I'm happy with the idea it's on the table, it opens to possibilities for making this the best film it can be.

And as to children watching the wrong movie, well I'm afraid that it is a parent's or guardian's responsibility to actually check the rating of a film they let a child in their watch, so that they can make an informed decision on it.

I just hope they don't rule out depth and substance in the story simply for gore in the action scenes.

If they make it R-Rated that means Awesomness.Wolverine was made for thta thing

As long as the depth of the story isnt sacrificed for unnecessary brutality & sex , this might work.

yeeeee, this would be awesome.. I'm more concerned with the plot though

Yes. Yes Yes. Absolutely. Do It. It needs to be done.

I think Jackman is also just trying to keep the next Wolverine movie alive. Which is fine, but little news stories like this make me think that.

As long as it has a good script and direction/editing, it could be G for all I care. The R-rating does open things up considerably, however. Most likely for gore and some language. Silver Samurai, Lady Deathstrike...? Yes please.

While I don't think that excess violence automatically makes any movie "better", I do think that a higher rating would suit the character. Wolverine is an extremely tragic character who faces violence and destruction everywhere he goes, so it would make sense for the planned movie to be full of contextual blood and gore as well. Dealing with violence and killers around him - and the violence and the killer within him - is a crucial part of the character, and I'm not sure if PG-13 violence can properly capture the brutality of the traumatic experiences he's had in his life. Also, he does have a set of razor-sharp claws coming out of his knuckles, and often finds himself in situations where they come in handy. Having too low a rating would amount to a whole lot of shots of Wolverine posing with his claws out and then proceeding to punch and throw people. That's plain silly, if not anything else.

Letting the movie sink into the bankable PG-13 swamp like its awful predecessor might mean that they're going to soften the brutal and tragic themes related to the character so that thet wouldn't lose any money by alienating some of the younger audience. That's actually why a higher rating might prove to be a blessing; in order to be worth the financial gamble of delibarately excluding the tweens and the families, the movie would have to make a chuckload of profit, and in order to do that it would have to be (gasp!) genuinely good so that adult viewers would recommend it to others and maybe even see it multiple times.

I think the way violence is depicted in PG-13-rated films is actually worse than the way it's depicted in R-rated films. PG-13-rated films are often full of clean and bloodless on-screen deaths, which I think casualizes violence. Why should movie violence be sanitized? It shouldn't be glorified, either, but it should shock and appall people, because violence is something to be shocked and appalled by. To me, PG-13 violence if often more questionable than R-rated violence. At least R-rated films show that blood is usually involved when somebody gets shot in the chest.

I also don't understand how having some parents mistake R-rated comic book movies for family films is a problem. It's the parents' duty to look at the rating and make sure that the movie they're taking their kids to is really suited for children. That's why the ratings are there for! If they get a simple thing like that horribly wrong, it's their fault. Every movie in the world shouldn't have to be custom-designed to accomodiate the the ignorance of some people.

Anyways, I'm not holding my breath for The Wolverine (R). Usually, the temptation to give all movies the commercially ideal PG-13 rating is too great for any studio to pass - especially when it comes to a character as cashable as Wolverine, who does appeal to viewers of all ages. After seeing what a mess Wolverine: Origins turned out to be, I'm really not expecting great things from this movie either way.

Is it smart? No. Is it commendable and what should be done? Absolutely.

YES! well... maybe. wolverine is not a kid friendly character. wolverine is a tortured soul, he is almost 200 years old, and has fractured memories. that right there is an avenue for a psychological thriller. the claws add sci fi, but just because it is a movie about a psycho with blades for his hands, does not mean it has to be filled with gore and stuff. anyone remember x2? he stabbed those guys in the gut and then went crazy in the mansion to protect the kids. he stabbed stryker! the man is also known to kill, but from what was said years ago, the wolverine will be adapted from a frank miller tale. does this mean we have to go all sin city and have wolvie stylistically kill everything in sight? no. make it a HARD pg-13 film, but R? a directors cut, possibly.

@MyraMyraMyra: Absolutely. It'll go PG-13 in the end, the production of this movie has been already compromised so many times that I can't imagine them taking it in an R rated direction. Maybe if Aronofsky stayed on, I would have crossed my fingers for a more true to character interpretation. Oh well. Jackman mentioned making two versions - maybe to push DVD sales? Who knows. For me, I would love R rated (because of the character, not because of blood/gore/sex) but would be disappointed if I couldn't take my 11 year old cousin who I managed to drag into the comic world a couple of years back. As a Wolverine fan, I would love the exploration of the darkness of his character that would necessitate an R rating, but in defense of the younger fans, it would be too alienating.

I hope its similar to how X Men-Origins was going in the beginning.

I think that it could and will be a hard pg-13. I mean look at Batman and I think if Marvel does it rated R that they will lose sales from the kid audience

What would Disney think?

I think Disney is against Wolverine doing this.

Kids/teens watch rated R films all the time, and there's still the comics.  I suspect it will only affect theatre sales.  Many of those kids will likely pirate the movie anyways.

I am excited to see Wolverine to be rated R. That means they can pull a lot more off with that rating and be as raw as Wolverine should be. The only bad thing about the movie being rated R is for the younger audience who love superhero movies may not see the movie because of the rating. But then again maybe some other people who are older may give wolverine a chance if it is rated R and more gruesome.

Make it Rated R and then make an animated movie for the kids. DUH!

'The Wolverine' would seem to me a movie that could work as a 'PG-13' film. With an R rated movie at times it seems that the producers, directors etc go all out on the violence and other material. Besides, none of Marvel's "R" movies have even been that good, if 'The Wolverine' does become an R rated film, then it'll have to be at the level of most R rated films to this date.

R-rated wolverince movie!?!? PERFECt!! :D

if only ghost rider rated r..i think it could hav been better...especially if i directed it ;p lol

but im soo lookin foward to wolverine now. it was always funny hwo the wolverince movie was pg13 but the video game for the movie was rated M, and alotta gore in it lol

A hard-R rating would be appropriate in my mind for such a movie but it could definitely have a backfiring miscalculation to the parents who would take their kids to this movie, in my opinion. Yes, he is bad @$$ but at the same time he is a household name; not something to be overlooked in doing a movie. So to have a Watchmen-caliber Wolverine movie would be a good thing...and a bad thing at the same time. It really is a tough call.

kids love Rated R movies anyone over 10 will go and see it

i can understand not doing a spiderman movie as rated R

but wolverine has claws coming out of his fist!!!

Would it be smart?

Hell no.

Would it be awesome?

Hell yes.

The Solution?

Release it PG-13, but give us an R rated (or unrated) extended cut on Blu-Ray and DVD!

Wolverine... Rated R... He was designed for that rating!

Please if you are a true wolverine fan than you know it should be R-rated. Because guest what HE IS THE BEST THERE IS AT WHAT HE DOES AND IT ANT RATED PG-13

This sounds fucking awesome a wolverine film that's an 18 shit yeah !!!

Never gonna happen. Wolvie's too big to risk an R rating on but they can make it a "hard" PG-13. There are varying degrees of PG-13 movies, just look at The Dark Knight and then compare it to say, the Thor or Iron man movies. Either way I'll be happy as long as they don't repeat the horrific debacle that was Wolverine: Origins. Avoid the Jason Statham-esque super-cheese action and no more wasting the characters fans want to see on pointless 5 minute cameos (poor Gambit).

That M rated Wolverine game was pretty cool.

Also, it's totally possible to make a dark and serious movie without making it R rated. Look at the last couple of Batman movies. You don't need blood, gore, swearing, and sex to be dark and serious or whatever.

I don't think making it rated R would automatically make it a good movie, but would allow for greater freedom in writing the story. That being said, a lot of blood and chopped off limbs aren't usually the basis for a good film

i would love an r rated wolverine film. if they do the lab scene again hope it matches singers version from 1 and 2.

@GoonFan_12 said:

I've personally never been drawn to Wolverine as a character. He was (and I guess still is) cool as a member of the X-Men, but as a stand-alone character, I was never intrigued enough to follow along. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was not to blame for this. that movie was a stink bomb wrapped in three tons of canon-defying horse crap. when it comes to the big names in Marvel-dome, Wolverine never comes to mind for me, even though I know he's a hugely popular character.

Pretty much this.

@Jamiracles said:

Dude has knives that pop out of his hands.

But also this.

Wolverine is violent!!! gives us a proper take on the bada$$!!!!

Hell yes! We will be able to see Wolverine in all his bad a$$ blood coated goodness. 

@bRiMaTiOn said:

What would Disney think?

I think Disney is against Wolverine doing this.

F**k Disney!!!

I like the idea of releasing both a rated R and a PG-13 movie. It caters to both the hardcore fans and the kids, also movies have done this in the past and have had success with it, for example The Kings Speech. It was was released as Rated R mainly for one awesome scene where the main character dropped the F-bomb A LOT. Then within a few weeks the production company released a PG-13 version for the kids, which only busted ticket sales.....and went on to win best picture.

I'm a fan of the idea.

Personally I think that in terms of it potentially being a better movie it is a great idea, but the chances of it actually happening are slim to none. Say what you will about Origins (I agree it was completely terrible) but people will pay to go see a Wolverine movie, that includes a large younger audience as well.