The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for pushing its boundaries every now and then. Being under Disney’s umbrella can be quite complicated for this effect; however, they have managed to find loopholes to help them through it. Some experiments when it comes to storytelling and thematics haven’t really worked for the franchise in the past few years. However, their biggest risk with the age ratings ended up performing excellently well.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 was a masterpiece. The film established who the main character of the series was and did it in such a hard-hitting way that one could not help but leave the theaters in tears.
However, it is important to remember that the film took a lot of risks. While some were safer, some pushed the boundaries a little too much.
James Gunn Made a Bold Decision
When James Gunn was making Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, he almost made an experiment out of it. He wanted to see what boundaries he could cross when making a PG-13 film. He wanted to add darker themes, perfectly timed jokes, and graphic violence. However, he did not want the rating of the movie to change completely.
Which is where some loopholes were discovered. Through these, he was able to add an F-bomb to the movie and what can be called one of the most disturbing scenes in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. This execution was done by the villain of the film, The High Evolutionary.
The character famously had his face ripped off, resulting in him wearing a piece of skin on top of his pre-existing face to appear like he did before. However, at one point in the story, the face falls off, and the fans are given a glimpse of what they were actually looking at the whole time.
Underneath the mask was a man with one normal eye, the other being bloodshot and bare. He had no lips and his teeth on full display; his nose was gone, and his skin looked more like bloody muscle.
Fans Marvel at the Choice
Looking back at the movie, many fans wonder how Marvel was able to get the scene and character design in Chris Pratt’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 approved to be PG-13. Some talked about how truly terrifying the skin looked, mentioning that they got nightmares after seeing the movie. Others were leaning towards anger and were extremely unhappy when the scene showed up in front of their children.
It is not surprising the parents were upset by the scene, however, it is important to remember just how much has already passed through the Motion Picture Association. They are responsible for deciding the age ratings of films and greenlit some very interesting character designs that were much more horrifying.
Can't believe this was in a PG-13 movie https://t.co/cA6oVkTLHl
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) June 20, 2024
Yeah man, I’ll be honest. Bringing my kid to this ….kind of pissed me off.
— fuzzy_gamera (@Fuzzy_Gamera) June 20, 2024
I mean…..this is relative to it. Not too big of a deal to change the rating pic.twitter.com/poSe8O70Vv
— Josh Staszczyk (@joshstasz) June 20, 2024
that looks like a whole nightmare tbh 😭
— ૮₍˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶₎ა (@theiconicashley) June 21, 2024
its cool when movies actually use their PG-13 instead of pulling all their punches
— Always tired (@Nevermore_414) June 20, 2024
Starting with an example in the MCU, Red Skull in Captain America: First Avenger, looked almost the same as the High Evolutionary, without the blood and the charred skin. At the same time, Two-Face in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy had a look much worse than Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, and he was approved by fans with flying colors.
It is safe to say that times and perspectives are changing when it comes to censorship laws and what is allowed to be put in PG-13 films.
