R-Rated DC Scenes We Never Got To See In The Original Cut
Every movie has deleted scenes — especially if it's going for a PG-13 rating. Whether they involve Superman, Supergirl, or one of three different Jokers, these violent, gory, and vulgar moments didn't make it into the final cut of any of DC's many films.
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00:00 Every movie has deleted scenes, especially if it's going for a PG-13 rating.
00:04 Whether they involve Superman, Supergirl, or one of three different Jokers, these violent,
00:08 gory, and vulgar moments didn't make it into the final cut of any of DC's many films.
00:14 It's easy to forget that Christopher Nolan's gritty takes on Batman never exceeded a PG-13
00:18 rating, so it's no surprise to learn that the filmmaker towed the line a few times.
00:22 In an early scene of The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon meet with Gotham's
00:26 mayor to discuss the handling of newly arrested criminals.
00:29 Suddenly, though, a body dressed in a makeshift Batman suit crashes against a nearby window.
00:34 Upon closer examination, the deceased turns out to be Brian Douglas, and he has a Joker
00:38 card with the words "Will the real Batman please stand up?" pinned to his vest.
00:43 While already chilling on its own, this scene was originally conceived to be even more intense.
00:47 Behind-the-scenes photos reveal that Brian's body was suspended from a rope, as shown in
00:51 the final film.
00:52 However, in the original version, the Joker card was not pinned to his chest, but held
00:56 in place by a knife that had been plunged directly into his heart.
00:59 It makes the Joker seem just a bit more brutal, but the change was likely necessary for Christopher
01:03 Nolan to maintain a PG-13 rating.
01:05 "I'm a man of my word."
01:12 Later on in The Dark Knight, schizophrenic man Thomas Schiff is interrogated by Harvey
01:16 Dent in a particularly intense scene.
01:18 Actor David Desmolchian, who portrayed the man in the hot seat, shared an interesting
01:22 tidbit during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter a decade after filming wrapped.
01:26 Desmolchian recalled,
01:27 "Nolan said when we were shooting it, I was pushing my head against Aaron's gun, and he
01:30 was pushing the gun back.
01:32 I remember for a few weeks after I had a big welt on my head and a little goose egg and
01:36 black bruise.
01:37 He said that was one of the moments the MPAA asked him to go back, and he had to cut out
01:41 the indent from the gun barrel on my head."
01:43 Even in its edited form, the sequence remains incredibly stressful.
01:47 Harvey passionately threatens Schiff, determined to find the Joker, flipping his lucky coin
01:51 to determine the criminal's fate.
01:52 It's an unforgettable moment regardless.
01:55 Even it could have been ever so slightly enhanced if Nolan had been given the go-ahead.
01:59 A fantasy western with an all-star cast seems like the kind of project that should be destined
02:03 for success.
02:04 But 2010's Jonah Hex was riddled with so many issues that the final cut was nearly unwatchable.
02:09 Rushed reshoots and excessive editing reduced what should have been an epic adventure to
02:13 a mere 81 minutes in length.
02:15 When it came time for Jonah Hex to stumble into movie theaters, it only managed to recoup
02:19 $10.9 million of its $47 million budget.
02:23 "Oh, hell, Mr. Hex, there's an unscrupulous man or two paid double that for your stinking
02:30 hide!"
02:31 Starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox alongside John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett,
02:37 Wes Bentley, and Lance Reddick, Jonah Hex secured a PG-13 rating for its violence alone.
02:42 Many of the steamier scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, including a love scene
02:45 between Brolin and Fox that was teased in the Comic-Con trailer.
02:49 While no one but the film's cast and crew know the full extent of the sequence, it's
02:52 safe to assume that Warner Bros. made last-minute edits to avoid an R rating.
02:56 While it's unlikely that a love scene between a 42-year-old Brolin and a 24-year-old Fox
03:00 would have salvaged Jonah Hex, at least it would have made the film closer to an hour
03:03 and a half.
03:05 After exploring the limits of the PG-13 rating with The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan once
03:09 again tempted fate with his third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.
03:12 The finale to the iconic trilogy showcases a significant amount of violence and action,
03:17 while still avoiding excessive gore.
03:18 However, according to actor Matthew Modine, his character Peter Foley could have taken
03:22 things even further.
03:24 During an interview on The Real Blend podcast, Modine revealed that Foley's death scene
03:28 had the potential to warrant an NC-17 rating if it had been included without any alterations.
03:33 In the final cut, Talia al Ghul orders her associates to eliminate any aggressors.
03:38 More gunfire is heard, and we see Foley lying dead on the ground.
03:41 The original scene went very differently.
03:43 Modine disclosed,
03:44 "The guy that was doubling me got hit by the car.
03:47 They put a Plexiglas thing on the front of the car, and he got hit.
03:50 They had ropes to pull him into the air.
03:52 But he went up, and they dropped him from about 15 feet, and the sound of his body hitting
03:56 the cobblestone street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, it was sickening."
04:00 After a prologue depicting Bruce Wayne's origins and involvement in the Battle of Metropolis
04:04 during the events of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman shifts to the present day, where
04:08 Lois Lane embarks on a perilous adventure that eventually leads to her capture.
04:11 In the theatrical cut, the scene unfolds with a quick succession of action, culminating
04:15 in Superman's timely arrival.
04:17 Kal-El bursts through a ceiling, subdues the villain holding Lois hostage, and the scene
04:21 concludes there.
04:22 It's later revealed that Lex Luthor orchestrated this event as part of his plan to frame Superman,
04:27 although the execution remains unclear.
04:29 KGB's Luthor's henchman ends up shooting some people and retreating before Superman's arrival,
04:34 making it seem like a somewhat flawed strategy.
04:36 In the extended cut, Superman arrives and destroys a drone, leaving a distinct sign
04:40 of his presence at the scene.
04:42 Meanwhile, KGB's men open fire and use incendiary devices to simulate the effects of Superman's
04:47 heat vision, giving the impression that the superhero killed innocent bystanders.
04:51 While the added footage may still feel somewhat clumsy, it provides crucial context and a
04:55 clearer understanding of Lex's intricate plan.
04:58 Warner Bros. removed these extra moments to avoid an R rating, which ultimately compromised
05:02 the theatrical cut.
05:03 Fortunately, the longer version is available on Blu-ray for a more comprehensive viewing
05:07 experience.
05:09 Over the years, director David Ayer has teased a superior cut of his disappointing feature
05:13 Suicide Squad, which hit theaters in 2016 and performed well at the box office despite
05:18 lackluster reviews.
05:19 Similar to Zack Snyder's projects, Ayer's film faced studio interference, which aimed
05:23 to lighten the overall tone and remove violent content.
05:27 Audiences anticipated something in line with the astonishing Comic-Con trailer, but the
05:30 final product ended up being far less impressive.
05:32 Although there are a handful of enjoyable moments involving Will Smith's deadshot, Margot Robbie's
05:36 Harley Quinn, and Jared Leto's Joker, it was evident that we were only witnessing a diluted
05:41 version of the original vision.
05:43 "They said you are my guests to this handsome hunk of hunk of."
05:49 Leto's role in particular underwent significant cuts, relegating the actor to a mere cameo.
05:53 In the initial version, the Joker played a significant part in the story.
05:57 His relationship with Harley was portrayed as more abusive, and his character displayed
06:01 greater recklessness and violence.
06:03 Evidently, the studio believed Leto's interpretation was excessively dark, so they toned down his
06:07 character to secure a PG-13 rating.
06:09 Would the mythical Ayer cut turn Suicide Squad from a laughingstock into a modern classic?
06:14 Probably not, but the updated version would definitely be rated R.
06:18 Anyone who keeps tabs on the chaotic world of Hollywood filmmaking knows all about the
06:21 tumultuous behind-the-scenes struggles that plagued the production of Zack Snyder's Justice
06:26 League.
06:27 Although the director eventually unveiled his version of the film, complete with hours
06:30 of extra footage that fans had eagerly anticipated for four years, the theatrical cut released
06:34 in 2017 left much to be desired.
06:37 Joss Whedon, notable for his role in the Avengers franchise, took over to supervise extensive
06:41 reshoots aimed at lightening the film's tone.
06:43 The resulting Justice League underwhelmed audiences and threw plans for the DCEU into
06:48 disarray.
06:49 If Snyder never left, would his darker vision have propelled the comic book adaptation to
06:52 greater heights?
06:53 Fans of the Snyder cut certainly seem to think so.
06:56 The theatrical cut of Justice League significantly toned down the intensity, offering a milder
07:00 portrayal of Steppenwolf and reducing the level of gore.
07:03 The action sequence set in Themyscira suffered the most from these alterations, as much of
07:07 Steppenwolf's brutality was dialed back to secure a PG-13 rating.
07:10 In Snyder's version, the main antagonist gruesomely dismembers the Amazon women, leaving a trail
07:15 of blood on the battlefield.
07:17 Another detail omitted from the Justice League theatrical cut is the scene where Ben Affleck's
07:21 Dark Knight drops an F-bomb.
07:23 During an epilogue sequence that was specifically filmed for Zack Snyder's version of the film,
07:27 Batman confronts Jared Leto's Joker in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by a corrupted Superman.
07:32 "And make no mistake, I will f---ing kill you."
07:37 The Justice League theatrical cut was toned down to cater to a younger audience, while
07:41 Snyder aimed for a more mature and adult-oriented superhero epic.
07:44 In an interview with Vanity Fair, Snyder expressed his intentions regarding the inclusion of
07:48 Joker in his vision, stating,
07:50 "The Joker is really the only thing that I thought of in retrospect.
07:53 But I will say that it was always my intention to bring Joker into that world."
07:57 As Snyder speculated, the inclusion of Batman's controversial F-bomb likely played a role
08:01 in pushing Zack Snyder's Justice League into R-rated territory.
08:04 In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly in 2020, he shared his beliefs, saying,
08:08 "We haven't heard from the MPAA, but that's my gut."
08:12 Todd Phillips' delightfully morbid Joker embraced the freedom of an R-rating and a limited budget,
08:17 resulting in a refreshingly unique portrayal of the clown prince of crime free from external
08:21 interference.
08:22 Apparently, Joker could have pushed boundaries even further, but Phillips' exercise was strange
08:26 in certain aspects, notably with a bathtub scene that had the potential to intensify
08:30 the already restrictive rating.
08:32 During a 2019 discussion, the director disclosed that several Joker scenes ended up in the
08:36 cutting room floor, including the mysterious bathtub sequence.
08:40 Phillips remarked,
08:41 "There were two or three other impromptu scenes we shot, one that is amazing in a bathtub,
08:45 but I don't think we can actually include it in an R-rated movie.
08:48 And it's not because it was pornographic.
08:50 It was just insane."
08:52 While the exact details remain undisclosed, it must have been sufficiently intense to
08:56 warrant being cut from a film in which a man smothers his mother with a pillow and assassinates
09:00 a talk show host on live television.
09:02 Black Adam faced issues with tonal inconsistency and received mixed reviews, resulting in a
09:07 tepid box office return.
09:08 In an interview with Collider, producers Bo Flynn and Hiram Garcia revealed that their
09:12 original plan was to portray Black Adam as a murderous antihero who would gruesomely
09:17 kill people using his powers.
09:18 Garcia explained,
09:19 "We really wanted to make sure that we honored the character of Black Adam.
09:23 One of the things he's known for is his aggression and violence, and to do a Black Adam movie
09:26 that didn't have that just wouldn't have been authentic.
09:29 So we always went into this knowing that we were going to push it as far as we did."
09:32 "Heroes don't kill people."
09:36 "Well, I do."
09:40 The pair mentioned moments such as Black Adam dropping a bad guy from the sky, followed
09:43 by a truck bouncing over the body.
09:45 There were even more instances of such brutal scenes — ten, to be exact.
09:49 But the filmmakers were forced to cut them down in order to secure that essential PG-13
09:53 rating.
09:54 You might expect that Warner Bros. has learned its lesson by now and started giving filmmakers
09:58 the freedom to release their original visions in theaters.
10:01 Unfortunately, in The Flash, certain scenes were trimmed due to their R-rated content,
10:06 as revealed by Supergirl actor Sasha Kaye.
10:08 Kaye mentioned that the silo scene originally ran much longer and featured a plethora of
10:12 stunts.
10:13 However, some of these stunts were deemed too R-rated and were ultimately removed.
10:17 Despite the extensive use of visual effects in the scene, Kaye expressed her desire to
10:21 someday see the full footage and all the stunts that were performed.
10:24 Hopefully we'll see more of her version of Supergirl in the near future.
10:27 Without her pulling any punches, no specific details regarding the deleted scenes were
10:30 provided.
10:31 But given how little of Supergirl we actually see in The Flash, including a little extra
10:35 brutality couldn't hurt.
10:36 -