Why James Gunn's The Suicide Squad Is Rated R

Harley in The Suicide Squad

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Over the past few years, director James Gunn has become a household name largely thanks to his work in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. As such, fans are thrilled to see him use his talents on the DC side of things for The Suicide Squad. And now we know exactly why Task Force X’s second adventure will be rated R.

Anticipation for The Suicide Squad has been steadily building since James Gunn was first announced as director. And while the MCU is a PG-13 property, Gunn won’t have to hold back on violence or language for his DC debut as it’s Rated R. The official reason for this reasoning was recently revealed, which reads:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity.

Sign me up. It looks like James Gunn is pulling any punches with The Suicide Squad. And considering the movie is centered around a group of horrifying villains who are on a doomed mission, this makes a great deal of sense. Luckily, we won’t have to wait much longer to see the movie in all of its R-rated glory.

The official rating for The Suicide Squad might not be a totally surprise, as James Gunn and company have been teasing the adult nature of the villain-centric blockbuster. But now we know exactly why it was slapped with an R, and it’s due to violence, language, gore, and even some nudity and drugs. This sure ain’t the MCU.

Both The Suicide Squad and its spinoff series Peacemaker will make their way to HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

While James Gunn is best known for Guardians of the Galaxy, the majority of his work is adult-oriented and largely rated R. As such, The Suicide Squad looks like it’ll marry his horror sensibility, unique sense of humor, passion for comic book characters into one project. And I can’t wait.

James Gunn’s upcoming DC debut is also an interesting movie because it’s a sequel/soft reboot to David Ayer’s 2017 Suicide Squad movie. While a handful of actors are reprising their roles, there’s a ton of newcomers joining the franchise in Gunn’s movie. And smart money says most of them won’t make it out alive.

Luckily for fans, The Suicide Squad is nearly upon us. And as such, our countless questions about the blockbuster will be finally revealed. The cast and crew have been keeping their cards close to the chest, but everyone has teased the wild violence and body count. We’ll just have to see which characters survive, and end up having a future in the DCEU.

The Suicide Squad will arrive on HBO Max and theaters on August 6th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.