While Warner Bros. and DC Films have dipped their toes into R-rated territory with the likes of Joker and Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), James Gunn took full advantage of the rating by taking things up another level with his first foray into the world of DC Comics, The Suicide Squad.
Speaking with Collider about the DCEU movie, Gunn was asked whether he felt surprised that Warner Bros. allowed him to go all out, with the filmmaker revealing that the studio did initially ask him to consider a PG-13 rating but quickly relented.
“I wrote the script the whole time, thinking they would let me make it, I mean, they asked, ‘Can you make this PG-13?’ I said, no. I said, ‘You can make it and take it with somebody else, and they can direct it, and you can do a PG 13. But if I’m going to direct it, I want it to be R.’ They were like, ‘Okay, that’s worth the trade-off for us.’ So, they were great about it.”
SEE ALSO: The Suicide Squad and the Future of the DCEU
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
The Suicide Squad sees James Gunn directing a cast that includes Suicide Squad returnees Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) as well as new DCEU additions Idris Elba, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion, Taika Waititi, Jennifer Holland, David Dastmalchian, Joaquín Cosío, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, John Cena, Pete Davidson, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Julio Ruiz, Steve Agee, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, and Sylvester Stallone.
