After much speculation about the content of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the movie has finally received a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association (MPA)
According to the rating assigned by the MPA, the movie includes intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images and some language. The PG-13 rating has surprised no one as Marvel has rarely stepped outside its safe space in order to cater an adult audience with R rated content.
With Sam Raimi at the helm as director, the movie had been tipped to feature a darker tone, with a lot of horror elements. The former Spider-Man trilogy director has a ton of experience in filming horror films, as he has created movies like The Evil Dead franchise, Army of Darkness, and Drag Me to Hell.
The trailers for the movie has shown some of the horror elements, which includes Wanda Maximoff’s scary transformation as the Scarlet Witch, who looks unhinged with her powers. Moreover, we have even seen some characters like the Zombie Doctor Strange, which was referenced in What If…?
Fans of the MCU have long debated about Marvel playing it safe by creating projects that doesn’t overstep the PG-13 boundary. While the Netflix Marvel TV shows like Daredevil and Punisher have brilliantly used the R rating to its advantage, the same can’t be said about the projects revolving around the MCU’s darker characters like Moon Knight, who recently debuted on Disney+.
But, Feige has also maintained the studio’s current stance by mentioning that Marvel has yet to face any problem with a project that requires it to be R rated instead of PG-13.
In the end, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will have some scares for fans to endure, it’s very likely that the movie won’t have a radically different tone that sets it apart from the current crop of MCU projects.
