With Logan hitting theaters this weekend to high praise from both fans and critics, many are wondering just how the film will impact the superhero movie genre going forward.
And as a recent survey has proved, fans would be happy to see one big element of Logan’s unique formula become a bigger trend.
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A recently-released Fandango survey revealed that out of over 1,000 Logan moviegoers, 71% would like to see more R-rated superhero films.
Of course, the trend of R-rated comic book films has been around for quite some time. The first entry in the category was 1989’s Dolph Lundgren-led The Punisher, although the film was criticized for changing major elements of Frank Castle‘s backstory.
Before the days of the company’s shared cinematic universes, Marvel made several more R-rated films, including the Blade trilogy, both The Punisher and Punisher: War Zone, and the director’s cut of Daredevil. DC also got in the game as well, with films such as Constantine and Watchmen becoming cult hits in the years since their release.
But even then, there is something to said about the success of recent R-rated films such as Logan and last year’s Deadpool. With the recent emphasis being on creating a shared universe between different film properties, deliberately creating an R-rated entry into that shared canon does pose a risk.
Even though the average audience that attends superhero movies is becoming increasingly diverse, a large focus of superhero movie marketing remains in various tie-in products. And if younger viewers are not the target audience for an R-rated film, toys and other tie-in products become hard to sell.
Interestingly enough, it’s worth noting that both major R-rated releases in recent years have come from Fox, given the merchandise licensing issues that Fox has had with Marvel proper. While Deadpool and Wolverine toys exist, they mainly draw on their comic book likenesses instead of those seen in the movie. And with the nonlinear nature of the current X-Men film universe, younger audiences can still see PG-13 entries such as X-Men: Apocalypse without missing out on plot points in the R-rated films.
With moviegoers being so vocal about wanting more R-rated superhero films, it will be interesting to see exactly how that information affects the other major production companies. Could we see a DC Extended Universe film be released with a true R rating, bypassing the need for later extended cuts as was seen with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Or could the Marvel Cinematic Universe trade its family-friendly outputs for a major film release more in line with its Netflix properties? If Logan does as well at the box office as many are currently expecting, that could be entirely possible.
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.
Logan stars Hugh Jackman (Logan), Boyd Holbrook (Donald Pierce), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura Kinney/X-23), Doris Morgado (Maria), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), and Richard E. Grant (Dr. Zander Rice). James Mangold is directing and helped on the screenplay along with Scott Frank and Michael Green.
Logan hits theaters on March 3, 2017. Are you excited for Logan? Rate your anticipation in our Rankings database below!
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