There are a slew of R-rated superhero films and shows in the current landscape of the genre, yet there are certain classic superheroes who can benefit from such storytelling. Batman is one such character that can do wonders with an R-rating. However, it doesn’t t make sense for any IP to change ratings in between installments, which makes what happened with the two-part animated adaptation of The Long Halloween even more frustrating.
One odd feature of The Long Halloween duology is how the first film is a PG-13 film, while its sequel was given an R-rating. In an interview with Comics Beat, Producer Butch Lukic revealed why this was the case. However, while AT&T might have been okay with the arrangement, fans were rightly mad at the lackluster handling of the rating.
Batman: The Long Halloween would have benefitted from an R-rating across the board
The Long Halloween is a story that has a lot of blood and mature themes discussed in it. The first film in the two-part story was given a PG-13 rating, which was something the executives at WB wanted with the story. Producer Butch Lukic talked about this to Comics Beat, saying:
“Then a few months ago DC Comics and AT&T decided they want PG-13. From now on they don’t want to do R so I had to cut stuff out of Part 1 and Part 2 to make it PG-13.”
While a slew of stories from the Batman mythos would have merited an R-rating, what worked beautifully was that PG-13 stories also resonated with fans after cuts were made to change certain aspects of the narrative.
This would also have been true for Batman: The Long Halloween Part 1, if the second part had not received an R-rating, that too after the first film was deliberately altered to secure a PG-13 rating.
Despite their demands, DC Comics and AT&T were okay with the second film getting an R-rating
Despite the absolute requirement of the first film getting a PG-13 rating, DC Comics, and AT&T couldn’t care less when it came to the second film getting the R-rating. Lukic revealed:
“I guess I didn’t cut enough out from Part 2. It still got stuck with an R which turned out was fine by them. Since that was grandfathered in before they made that decision they let it go.”
While this would have been a fine decision to make if the first film had managed to secure an R-rating too, this decision to go ahead with it for Part 2, but not allow the first film to get an R-rating was not only frustrating to fans but also felt extremely lacklustere to audiences. Further, an R-rating alienated a significant chunk of the audience that was allowed to watch the first film, but now legally could not consume the second film, thanks to the altered ratings.
