"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" will be hitting theaters next week, but while the theatrical version is rated PG-13, the home release version, which will launch on digital platforms, DVD and Blu-Ray months after, will be R-rated. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmakers revealed what the differences are between the two cuts.
According to director Zack Snyder, the home release version of the film will be a full 30 minutes longer than the theatrical version. Zack also confirmed that the material that was cut out of the theatrical version was removed in order to attain a PG-13 rating as the original cut was given an R rating by the MPAA last year.
"I was like, 'Cool, I can put it back in for the director's cut.' There was nothing by design," Zack explained. "This was the material I just put back in, and then when the MPAA looked at it again, they were like, 'Oh, now the movie's rated R.' And, by the way, it's not a hard R. There's no nudity. There's a little bit of violence. It just tips the scale."
Executive producer Deborah Snyder, Zack's wife, also explained that the decision to go with the R-rated Director's Cut was not a reaction to the success of "Deadpool," which is now the highest-grossing R-rated comic book film.
Deborah pointed out that the production of "Batman v Superman" had been going on for years and it is also pointed out in the film that the original cut of the film was rated R before it had to be trimmed down to see a wider audience theatrical release.
It won't be Zack's first R-Rated cut either. The director made his mark with the R-rated remake of "Dawn of the Dead" in 2004 and followed this up with the R-rated adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, "300." Both the theatrical and home release versions of "Watchmen" are rated R as well.
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" opens in theaters this March 25.
