The Batman Proves Daredevil Doesn’t Need R-Rating For Success

Matt Reeves’ The Batman continues its major box office run, having pocketed some $258 million around the globe in its first weekend in theaters. Fans and critics alike seem to be loving the movie, which serves as just the latest reimaging of Gotham and its beloved vigilante, the Caped Crusader. In fact, the movie looks to be going over so well, it might be as clear as ever the project could be setting a new trend where productions featuring similar characters could try replicating the magic.

That means that, yes, the inevitable Daredevil reboot could also fit into the same PG-13 scheme as The Batman.

This likely isn’t something longtime fans of the Netflix series want to hear, but nothing about the history of the Man Without Fear insists he must be R-rated. The Netflix show took certain liberties given the freedom Marvel Television had at the time to gear the show towards adults. And now that we’ve all had a chance to watch Reeves’ three-hour Batman flick, it’s increasingly obvious that plenty of dark content can be squished into a PG-13 superhero movie.

Batman (Robert Pattinson) breaks a guy’s arm. He brutally punches another villain in the face repeatedly while raging on a shot of adrenaline, nearly beating the guy’s face to a pulp. Paul Dano’s Riddler was an incredibly dark villain, and the filmmakers managed to fit in some of his spookiest kills while keeping with the rating.

The Batman was the perfect package setting the expectations for fans of Ol’ Hornhead hoping to see the character return to the MCU at length. Between the characters within, the grim content in the movie, and its dark cinematography, the film is another thing Marvel Studios can point to when trying to decide whether to make Daredevil reboot a mass-market affair, or keep it R-rated for adults only.

What suit would you like to see Daredevil wear next Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things Marvel!

Daredevil and the rest of the DefendersVerse hits Disney+ on March 16th while The Batman continues its record-setting run exclusively in theaters.