Kick-Ass 2 Cast and Crew On Cutting the Rape Scene and More

Two controversial scenes from the Kick-Ass 2 comic book series won't be appearing in the filmed version of the story, which hits theaters on Friday. Director Jeff Wadlow had already told fans and reporters that a brutal gang-rape scene from the comic would not be adapted to the movie, and neither will a scene in which one character's dog is beheaded. In a new video featurette for Digital Spy (via CBM), which you can see below, the film's director and co-star both chime in to explain why, in their view, the scenes cut weren't necessary to the film's narrative. "There was a rape and a murdering of a dog that was just a little too much for this kind of world," said Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the actor whose character was responsible for both acts in the comics. "Because this still is a comic book world and the violence is--even though it's bloody--it is over the top and cartoony in a way that if you put a rape scene or killing an animal in there, it kind of brings the tone down. It's a little dark." "There's things that Mark [Millar] and John [Romita, Jr.] have to do in a comic book to get a response from an audience that I don't have to necessarily do in a movie because they're dealing with approximations of people--they're drawings, so there's automatically a separation," director Jeff Wadlow added. "I've got real, live people in front of my cameras. So to create that emotional response, I didn't always need to go as far." The rape scene, in particular, has been under scrutiny as recently as this week, after Millar told a reporter for The New Republic that he frequently uses rape as a plot device in his comics because he doesn't "think it matters." That's drawn criticism from feminist comics bloggers and, taken in tandem with some ridiculous comments made by Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane at a recent press junket, has turned the pair into a symbol of what's wrong with the relationship between comics publishers and female comics readers. "The ultimate [act] that would be the taboo, to show how bad some villain is, was to have somebody being raped, you know," Millar said. "I don't really think it matters. It's the same as, like, a decapitation. It's just a horrible act to show that somebody's a bad guy."