Kevin Feige Says 'Black Widow' Film Was 'Never' Going to Be Rated R
By Kwadar Ray
Rumors circulated last month that the upcoming standalone Black Widow film could have an R-rating. Charles Murphy of That Hashtag Show reported he heard rumors from as early as Dec. 2017 that Marvel was considering making the movie R-rated, which would ultimately make it the first film in MCU history with such a rating.
Here's something I don't think I've ever talked about. When I first heard they were developing the Black Widow film, I also heard they were discussing whether or not to make it Marvel Studios first R-rated film.
— Charles Murphy (@CharlesMurphTHS) January 12, 2019
However, a pretty important person, to say the least, is refuting those rumors. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige ruled out the possibility of the upcoming film having an R-rating.
"It never was going to be," Feige told Comicbook.com. "Somebody writes, 'I hear it's R-rated!' And then everybody writes it up."
Many fans believed an R-rating would suit the upcoming film, as Black Widow's origin story is one of Marvel's darkest and most violent. However, the Marvel bosses clearly had a different idea and never considered making the movie R-rated.
Kevin Feige debunks rumor that ‘Black Widow’ would be R-rated — ‘It was never going to be’' ?️
— Fandom (@getFANDOM) February 22, 2019
(via @ComicBook) pic.twitter.com/ddJua9O5t2
In the same interview, Feige also explained that Marvel Studios is not ready to officially announce films beyond 2019.
"There are no mandates to make any more than two films a year," Feige revealed. "As we've seen in the last couple years, when it naturally happens and when there are ideas and when there are teams ready to go, we're not going to hold something back. We'll make it."
Thus far, we know the Black Widow standalone film's team includes Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natalia Romanova, with Cate Shortland slated to direct.