Back in April, Ryan Reynolds and Mario Lopez played a prank on us, eventually revealing an R-rating for the Deadpool movie. Today, it's official as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) confirmed the R-rating, via Box Office Mojo.
For anyone familiar Deadpool, this was to be expected. However, if you've not seen any of the marketing for the film, the MPAA gives a clear, concise reasoning for the rating: "strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity."
Again, these are all things that were blatantly hinted at in trailers. There's been no shortage of violent action or strong language in Deadpool's marketing, and we've seen some set photos suggesting sexual content. The trailers briefly showed a few scenes that appear to be set in a strip club, suggesting that's where we could find the "graphic nudity."
There was likely some concern among the studio that an R rating could fragment the audience, limiting Deapool's potential in the box office, but Ryan Reynolds — who plays the unconventonial anti-hero in the film — apparently fought (and won) the battle in the end. For a character known for his dark, twisted sense of humor, anything less than an R rating probably wouldn't have sit well with fans of the character.
