Why These PG-13 Movies Got R-Rated Sequels

The vast majority of film franchises maintain a consistent rating throughout their existence. At most, the content might vary enough from one installment to the next to have some rated PG while others are rated PG-13, but it's rare that a sequel crosses over from a PG all the way to an R. When it does happen, the most common direction is for an R-rated movie to have PG sequels in an effort to increase the box office reach of the franchise — or, in the case of comedies that started in the 1980s, to have sequels cut out the gratuitous nudity that was often slipped into otherwise fairly tame movies, in the poorly-aged trend of that decade.

Perhaps the most unusual path for a movie series to take is for things to already be at a PG level and then go up to an R for a sequel. Despite some notable outliers, the overall trend is that R-rated movies don't do as well at the box office as PG movies for the simple fact that there are certain demographics that either can't or simply don't want to see an R-rated movie. So for a PG movie to have an R-rated sequel, there's usually a fascinating story behind why that decision was made. Sometimes it's for creative reasons, sometimes financial ones — and more often than not, it's a little bit of both. 

The "Riddick" franchise has been an interesting one indeed. It was kicked off by the surprise action/horror hit "Pitch Black" in 2000, one of the movies that helped put Vin Diesel on the map even before his debut as Dominic Toretto the following year in a certain multi-billion-dollar-grossing car movie franchise. When Diesel and director David Twohy wanted to expand the "Riddick" universe via the more ambitious and lore-heavy "The Chronicles of Riddick," what started out as an R-rated franchise had to become a PG-13 one in order for Diesel and Twohy to convince Universal to give them the nine-figure budget they needed for their 2004 sequel.

Though "Chronicles" was a box office flop, Diesel and Twohy remained passionate about the "Riddick" character and universe and teased a third film for years. Not satisfied with the creative sacrifices that had to be made in order for "Chronicles" to be PG-13, Diesel said he was determined to have the third installment — simply titled "Riddick" — be R-rated like the original movie and not have any of the restraints that a PG rating would put on the project. 

It took nine years and Diesel having to leverage his house to get it funded, but "Riddick" was finally released in 2013 with its intended R-rating intact.

Though there had been some earlier R-rated comic book movie adaptations like "Blade" and "The Crow," the genre moved pretty firmly into PG and PG-13 territory — at least in terms of mainstream Marvel and DC properties — once things really started to take off with "Spider-Man," "Batman Begins," and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even the DC Extended Universe, which attempted to set itself apart from the MCU by being the home of darker, grittier comic book movies, stayed in PG-13 land for the first few years of its existence.

Margot Robbie spent several years trying to get an R-rated Harley Quinn spin-off movie made, following her debut as the character in the 2016 movie "Suicide Squad." It certainly can't be a coincidence that "Birds of Prey" and its R rating came a year after the massively successful 2019 R-rated "Joker" standalone film starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Philips — not to mention the well-received and very adult "Harley Quinn" HBO animated series that also debuted in 2019.

Even though "Birds of Prey" didn't quite break even at the box office, critical reception was largely positive and certainly helped to pave the way for the half-sequel, half-reboot "The Suicide Squad," released in 2021, also being rated R. 

Few movie franchises have had as triumphant a return after both a long hiatus and a poorly-received entry as "Mad Max" did with the nearly flawless "Mad Max: Fury Road." It was a rare example of a movie being more or less wall-to-wall action and still managing to be critically acclaimed and even nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Those accomplishments are impressive enough on their own, but even more so considering that the movie followed up the extremely disappointing "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," inarguably the franchise's low point.

After the surprising success of "Mad Max" and its sequel, "The Road Warrior," both of which earned an impressive amount of money against budgets that were both under $10 million, a third installment was a foregone conclusion. Surprisingly, "Beyond Thunderdome" being tagged PG-13 after two R-rated predecessors wasn't done so more money would be spent on the film, which still cost about $10 million. Toning down the violence and brutality didn't seem specifically done to reach a bigger audience in this case. 

In actuality, director George Miller was grieving the loss of producing partner Byron Kennedy, who died while scouting locations for "Beyond Thunderdome." Miller decided to push on with the movie, if only that his friend's death was not in vain, and that's likely why "Beyond Thunderdome" ended up with its softer tone. When Miller finally returned to the franchise decades later, he was ready to make a proper, R-rated "Mad Max" movie again.

It can debated all day long which WWE wrestler-turned-actor has done the best job at making that transition. In terms of box office receipts, Dwayne Johnson is going to prove tough to beat. At the same time, Dave Bautista seems to be getting a lot of people on his side as the one with the strongest acting chops, with outlets like The A.V. Club and filmmakers like Rian Johnson among those making that proclamation. But it wouldn't be fair to count out John Cena just yet, as he's been slowly carving out his own successful acting path and deserves to also be part of that conversation.

Cena's first starring role in a movie was in 2006's "The Marine," which didn't get any critics on his side but did well enough at the box office to launch a prolific filmography of both movie and TV roles. In fact, Cena was already too big of a star by the time the first "Marine" sequel was underway to reprise his role, with the lead instead going to fellow WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. The direct-to-video movie also went from PG-13 to R as it upped the ante with more violence, more foul language, and more female skin (though no outright nudity). 

This approach apparently worked for "The Marine 2," as four further installments of the series — from "The Marine 3: Homefront" to final entry "The Marine 6: Close Quarters" — retained the R rating. 

Every "Alien" movie was rated R. Every "Predator" movie was rated R. So when it came time for the big crossover movie to happen, surely "Alien vs. Predator" was rated R too, right? Nope. Not having enough faith that the two franchises could bring their longtime fans — most of whom were well into adulthood by the time of the 2004 movie — into the theater, it was decided that the long-awaited cinematic showdown between two monsters from two R-rated franchises should take place within the confines of a PG-13 setting.

"Alien vs. Predator" was a disappointment by almost every measure, but was still too promising of an idea to let die after just one misstep. So a follow-up was released in 2007 that at least knew how to be a no-holds-barred, R-rated beatdown between the iconic enemies. Sure, "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" was panned even harder than the previous film, did worse at the box office, and put plans on indefinite hold for future entries in that particular series. But at least it was R-rated like it deserved to be, so that's something. 

As for the individual franchises, "Predator" recently came back strong with the critically-acclaimed 2022 Hulu prequel "Prey," while original "Alien" director Ridley Scott finally returned to that series in the 2010s with two fairly well-received entries in "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant." It would seem that the two franchises are better off alone, R-rated or otherwise.