We knew it was coming but we still held out hope Sony would have a change of heart. That did not happen and Venom is indeed rated PG-13. Sony’s official page for the movie confirmed the rating and in the process, dashed our hopes the movie would be a faithful adaptation of the comic book character.
That’s not to say Venom won’t be any good, it might very well be a fantastic comic book movie, but considering trailers for the movie heavily teased a darker take on the character, there was the belief that it might just be R-rated following the path set by Deadpool and Logan. Sadly that won’t happen as Sony opted to go in a more conservative route with an eye toward a future crossover event with Spider-Man.
Fandango managing editor Erik Davis revealed on Twitter studio sources told him the PG-13 rating was all about a Spider-Man face off down the line. Sony owns both characters and is actively trying to build a budding cinematic universe focusing on the Spider-Man characters it owns. Pitting Spider-Man and Venom against each other would be a fantastic way to deliver fans a highly anticipated blockbuster.
#Venom is officially rated PG-13. Hearing from studio sources the reason is so that Venom and Spider-Man can face off at some point down the line. If the movie is R, it’s hard to do that. pic.twitter.com/dBZzgY18k3
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) September 13, 2018
If Venom went too dark, it would be quite challenging to pit the family-friendly version of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man against a mean and foul-mouthed Venom. Additionally, you have to think a future crossover would primarily focus on Spider-Man, whose movies are always geared toward family audiences. Regardless, it’s still somewhat disappointing; it’s not like Sony can’t do both.
Fans will enter Venom with some hesitation due to its PG-13 rating, but if it ends up being a fantastic movie, all will be forgotten. We’re hoping it meets those expectations.
