Speculation Will Episode 7 be PG-13?

My question is regarding the rating.

Despite the frequent and ridiculous overgeneralization that the prequels were too kid friendly (or overall any more kid-friendly than the first series), and full of JJ Binks characters, Sith was actually by far the darkest, least kid-friendly movie of all (Anakin is seen getting ready to butcher small children with his light saber for cryin' out loud!). Sith was the only movie of the whole series that was PG-13 (even if they had that rating when the first series came out, I don't think any of the three would have gotten it; Empire was borderline, but was not as dark as Sith in any case).

So the question is, will Episode 7 be PG-13?

Pro:
1) With all of the flack over JJ Binks and such, one would think that they would steer clear of that, and perhaps move toward a slightly more serious movie that will lend credibility to the new series.

2) The live action TV series was alleged by Lucas and his Rick McCallum to be much more serious and non-family friendly than anything before it (like "Deadwood in space" per Rick McCallum), so maybe he is moving in that direction with the stories he submitted to Kathleen.

3) Other Disney movies are PG-13 (e.g. the Marvel comic series).

Con:
1) You can sell more action figues and kiddie lunch pales with lots of fuzzy Ewok and JJ Binks-type characters.

2) It may be perceived that you can reach a wider audience and hook the newest generation of kids with PG or (gasp!) G rated Star Wars.

3) Disney is Disney, most of their movies are G or PG.

My Prediction: I'm climbing way out on and limb here, predicting PG-13. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Desire-based belief? Maybe. I think it is a fair possibility though.

 

If Pirates of the Caribbean and the latest Marvel/Disney movies are any indication then probably.

Worth noting that ROTS made more money than AOTC and was PG13

 

We don't know anything about what will happen in the movie yet.
Star Wars is actually pretty tame. The onyl reason George Lucas added the shot of Owen and Beru Lars' remains was that ANH was going to get a G rating otherwise.

 

It wouldent bother me if it was Pg. I'v never considered SW as Rated R anyway

 

Right, it wouldn't per se bother me either if it was rated PG, my point was whether it will take a more serious tone or a more kid-friendly one; the rating is indicitive of the content. I am personally hoping the content is a little more edgy.

 

Either PG or PG-13 would be fine by me. What bothers me is the addition of non-Star Wars things like swearing (beyond 'd' or h') or sex.

 

Yeah. I don't rule out a movie because it is PG. I don't rule out a movie because it is G.

 

Please no "edgy". Serious and even dark (as long as it's balanced by lighter moments) is what SW can be, but not "edgy".

 

But there is swearing in Star Wars! Only they have their own words - for example, kark, kriff, schutta.

 

Earth-swearing, then.

 

Of course, if there was earth-swearing, I would get pissed. I don't think they're dumb enough to do that. And, Star Wars is supposed to be OK for children.

 

I think it would be PG-13, since it's probably not hard to step over the boundary of PG in this day and age with movies.

 

A little more on the edgy side I was saying, along the lines of Sith and Empire rather than Phantom or Jedi; meaning a little more intense. I wasn't implying that it should be turned into the Alien series, or be full of swearing and raunch.

 

Bantha Foodoo

 

I would say given Disney's history over the last several years regarding action/adventure films such as all four Pirates of the Caribbean, Prince of Persia, John Carter, and The Avengers being PG-13 means that Star Wars is likely to be PG-13 as well.

 

The bounderies change with time, as far as what gets what rating, in my opinion. You can get away with more these days while remaining under an R rating. A PG-13 movie can get pretty intense.

 

I think it'll be PG-13. Not that it'll be particularly bloody or violent or anything, it's just kind of the standard for a normal action/adventure/sci-fi movie nowadays.

 

I think that is the best-case scenario that it will fall in the range of those movies. That would be the best chance of it being a success in this day and age; notably more edgy than most SW movies (all but Sith as I was saying), but not going too far.

 

Let's also remember, probably the one of the reasons the OT were all PG was because PG-13 didn't exist yet.

 

Right, I mentioned that in the OP. I still don't think they were PG-13 material, with the possible exception of Empire. Jedi and Hope were pretty pretty PG even by today's standards; they weren't any more adult than Phantom or Clones IMO.

 

Can we delete the word "edgy" from filmmakers' vocabularies for the next ten years or so? It's been done to death and is absolutely cliche. If everything is "edgy", then nothing is.

 

Well, since it is also used to descibe music and writing a lot, perhaps you are correct. It seems to be of particular significance here though with all of the complaints about the prequels.

Words like "intense" or "hip" have been overused also, so what is the replacement word?

Edgy- Applied to books, music, or even haircuts which tend to challenge societal norms and reveal the dark side. Cutting edge.

 

Ok then. When you said "edgy", I was thinking along the lines of "Breaking Bad"

 

I think PG-13 just by way of that being the money rating.

 

Don't really care about the rating, as long as the movie delivers.
In fact, scenes where you don't see any actual violence or blood and gore can easily be "darker" than a full on vulgar gorefest. I find that if you skillfully imply but do not show excessive violence it is far more effective than just shoving it in someone's face.

Of course, it all depends on the filmmaker's skills, so...we'll see. But I don't really care much about the rating.