Ryan Reynolds has revealed he officially pitched an R-rated Star Wars movie. The future of Star Wars feels brighter than ever, with the franchise due to return to the big screen next year with The Mandalorian & Grogu. But meanwhile, Lucasfilm continue to plan further upcoming Star Wars movies – and it seems the studio received one surprising pitch.

Speaking to Scott Mendelson on The Box Office Podcast, Ryan Reynolds reveals he’s actually pitched an R-rated Star Wars movie to Disney:

“I pitched to Disney I said, ‘Why don’t we do an R-rated ‘Star Wars’ property? It doesn’t have to be overt, A+ characters, there’s a wide range of characters you could use.’ And I don’t mean R-rated to be vulgar, R-rated as a Trojan Horse for emotion. I always wonder why studios don’t want to just gamble on something like that.”

There’s More To An R-Rating Than Blood & Gore

Oddly enough, Reynolds’ comments feel more like a criticism of franchises in general than anything else. When he refers to an R-rating, he isn’t talking about Sєx and violence; rather, he appears to believe such a rating is necessary for true emotional complexity. He does seem to have something of a point, because Andor – the most sophisticated, nuanced and character-driven Star Wars story to date – was certainly a lot more mature than standard fare.

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy has teased a Star Wars horror, perhaps hinting something might actually be in the works. In Gilroy’s view, his successful TV show should serve as a launchpad for a whole new type of Star Wars story. No doubt Ryan Reynolds would agree.

Our Take On An R-Rated Star Wars Movie

Oddly enough, the fandom’s own interest in an R-rated Star Wars movie is probably the biggest problem. There’s constant online discussion about the idea, and most of it does indeed see the R-rating as an excuse for overt violence. One popular idea is that an R-rated movie should feature Darth Vader, showing the Dark Lord of the Sith cutting a bloody swathe through his opponents. The danger is that fans will hear “R-rated Star Wars” and become fixated on that, rather than character and nuance.

In truth, of course, an R-rating is not essential for real depth of character-work. All it really takes is a strong creative vision, a writer with a sense of character at the forefront of their writing who isn’t really interested in Easter eggs and fan-service. The kind of R-rated Star Wars Reynolds envisions probably isn’t necessary – but there’s something quite disturbing in the fact he believes it is.

Source: The Box Office Podcast