Black Adam was nearly rated R, but Dwayne Johnson's movie being PG-13 prevents a future problem for the DCEU, especially before a Superman fight.
Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam nearly had an R-rating, but its official PG-13 rating prevents future DCEU problems. The debut of The Rock's anti-hero brings expectations of him helping usher in a new era for the shared universe. It seems that this nearly included another more adult DCEU movie, as Black Adam originally received an R-rating from the MPAA due to the movie's high violence. The DCEU has made R-rated movies before, including recently with The Suicide Squad. However, going back to this more mature rating would have been a big mistake, as it would have created a major problem for Black Adam's future.
Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam nearly had an R-rating, but its official PG-13 rating prevents future DCEU problems. The debut of The Rock's anti-hero brings expectations of him helping usher in a new era for the shared universe. It seems that this nearly included another more adult DCEU movie, as Black Adam originally received an R-rating from the MPAA due to the movie's high violence. The DCEU has made R-rated movies before, including recently with The Suicide Squad. However, going back to this more mature rating would have been a big mistake, as it would have created a major problem for Black Adam's future.
The potential R-rated Black Adam movie would also hurt the future fight between The Rock's Black Adam and Henry Cavill's Superman. There is almost no scenario imaginable where Superman stars in an R-rated movie, so the Black Adam fight would have to come in a PG-13 movie. Since his violence is what almost gave Black Adam an R-rating, there is a suggestion his fighting would have to change then when going against Superman. Toning down Black Adam's violence and strength when he goes up against his most powerful opponent would not make any sense, though. Superman deserves Black Adam's full strength as shown in the movies.
Now instead of having to figure out creative ways to explain Black Adam's scaled-down violence, the Superman fight can proceed as normal. The Rock continues to tease his desire to fight Henry Cavill, but no official announcement has been made. Audiences are most likely to see Black Adam and Superman fight in Black Adam 2 or the latest attempt to make Man of Steel 2. Either DCEU movie should retain a PG-13 rating and allow the heavyweight DC characters to square off in an epic blockbuster setting without worry about how Black Adam's violence stacks up to a prior R-rated appearance.
