Why Is Justice League: Warworld R-Rated?

"Justice League: Warworld" is an animated movie that centers on the DC Holy Trinity, with Superman in a retro sci-fi tale, Wonder Woman transported to the wild west, and a Viking-esque Batman wielding a sword. The unique narrative offers a refreshing take on these fan favorites, but some people looking forward to seeing the film might wonder why it received an R-rating.

There is no denying that the story of these heroes uniting to free the people of Warworld teases nonstop action, and the creators not holding back when it came to how they showcased the war these characters would be fighting is reflected in the rating the movie received, even if they don't necessarily feel that it's accurate. "It's mostly rated R because of the violence," Executive Producer Butch Lukic told Screen Rant in an interview. "There's a lot of bloodletting, sword-fighting, and gunfights. The violence, and then the R-rating's coming from that. Originally, honestly, it's a PG-13." Producer Jim Krieg defended the depiction of blood, saying, "If you cut out the blood with swords and guns, there's nothing. There's not a lot left."

It was also revealed that DC has a PG-13 policy the film couldn't live up to. "Originally, we were planning PG-13 because DC made a mandate for the last few years of only PG-13," Lukic added. "We thought we had a PG-13. But once we got into ... the aftereffects, we added more blood, assuming we'd get a milder rated MP, [but] he turned out to be a nutcase and put it as an R." While "Justice League: Warworld" may have missed the PG-13 mandate, DC has been known to be flexible in the past with one example paving the way for R-rated DC animated entertainment.

There is a good chance that "Justice League: Warworld" may not have been able to release with an R-rating if it had not been for the success of one bold adaptation of a chilling tale written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. The 1988 graphic novel "Batman: The Killing Joke" was turned into an animated motion picture in 2016, and considering what happens in the source material, it wasn't all that surprising it was the first DC animated film to receive an R-rating.

The movie didn't fare too well, with critics bestowing a dismal rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it did succeed in other areas. On a budget of $3.5 million, the film made a box office total of $4.4 million, with well over $8 million in domestic DVD and Blu-Ray sales. Those numbers changed everything, according to Jay Oliva, director of several DC animated movies like 2020's rated R "Justice League Dark." Olivia has credited the Sam Liu-directed feature in the past as proof that it made R-rated DC animation worth pursuing, saying, "The Killing Joke was kind of a godsend in the sense of... its success," the filmmaker said in an interview. "and because Home Video took a chance of releasing it as an R, it paved the way for [Justice League Dark]."

And "Justice League Dark" isn't the only example, as there have been several similarly rated releases since the first R-rated flick arrived. "Batman: Soul of the Dragon," "Injustice," "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay," and "Justice League: Warworld" all have "Batman: The Killing Joke" to thank for getting to bypass a family-friendly PG-13 designation.