X-Men: Dark Phoenix Producer Says They Would Have Considered an R Rating

Most superhero movies tend to stay within the bounds of a PG-13 rating, but Fox has expanded that a bit with R-rated films like Logan and Deadpool and its sequel. With a story as epic in scope and at times dark in tone as the Phoenix saga, the possibility of an R-rated Dark Phoenix is certainly an interesting one. Ultimately the studio decided to keep the last Fox X-Men film in the PG-13 category, and ComicBook.com recently had the chance to speak to Dark Phoenix producer Hutch Parker about the PG-13 rating and ask if they ever considered going into full R-rated territory.

“Not really, not really,” Parker said. “We would’ve. I mean I don’t think, it wouldn’t have been something we were shy about. We try, not unlike with Logan, we try to let the story dictate the rating, so to really decide what story are we telling, how do we best tell it, and then what rating would that require?

“And in this case, it is really more about the emotion than it was about the violence or about ya know sex or any of the things that would’ve likely pushed it to R, so it felt comfortable. I mean, it’s still a fairly dark story, but it felt pretty comfortable within this rating range.”

So far only Logan and the Deadpool films have been rated R, though the in-development X-Force film was expected to be rated R as well, especially with Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool involved. The status of that project though is unknown after Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, and it’s also unclear if Disney will produce any R-rated fare with their superhero characters going forward.

You can check out the official description for Dark Phoenix below:

“In Dark Phoenix, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.”

Dark Phoenix hits theaters on June 7th.