main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Speculation Will Episode 7 be PG-13?

Discussion in 'Archive: Disney Era Films' started by Lee_, Nov 4, 2012.

  1. lightsaver

    lightsaver Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2005
    It would only receive a PG-13 if something horrendous or disturbing. ROTS got it for anakins dismemberment and burning and likely the choking ofa pregnant woman and (though off screen but definitely referred to) killing of children.

    VIII would have to reach that level of assault and drama to earn a PG-13.
     
  2. Chewbacca89

    Chewbacca89 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 2012
    I'm gonna say PG. While RotS was PG-13, it was the only SW to get that rating. If I had to guess, based on the last 6 movies, I would guess PG. Disney might get more edgy as the series goes on, but I think initially they will play it safe.
     
    WIERD_GREEN_MAN likes this.
  3. Darth Shibs

    Darth Shibs Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    That just got me thinking, what if Star Wars from day one was for adults? How kick a$$ would that be? I know I said earlier that the hokiness or cheesiness makes Star Wars, but I guess I like either, cheesy and fun or serious and kick butt. Like a movie version of Force Unleashed video game or somethin.
     
    Lee_ likes this.
  4. spoooooky

    spoooooky Jedi Master

    Registered:
    May 2, 2000
    While I would personally prefer a pg-13 level film, my daughter will be five in 2015 and I would love a star wars film that I could take her to without reservation. I saw ANH in the theatre when I was four (yeah, I'm old...) and would love for a new trilogy to spark her imagination like it did mine. (lightning probably won't strike twice, but I'd still love her to see her first SW film at roughly the same age I saw the first at...)
     
    WIERD_GREEN_MAN likes this.
  5. Ron Fett

    Ron Fett Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    PG-13 is the magic zone, so I guarantee it.
     
  6. EHT

    EHT Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2007
    I agree, and I think that they have overall gotten more strict in their ratings. Many movies that get rated PG-13 now would have been rated PG in the past, even after the PG-13 rating was created.
     
  7. DV75

    DV75 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2001
    If they want to go about this ala Avengers style violence - then I would say PG 13.
     
  8. EHT

    EHT Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2007
    Since you mention that, what exactly is it about comic book movie violence in movies like The Avengers or The Amazing Spider-Man that should really earn them a PG-13 rating? The violence in movies like that is too far removed from reality to really be disturbing... not like people being shot by a gun or something. Do kids leave these movies wanting to throw a car through a building like The Hulk? And if they do, is that really a problem?
     
  9. Lee_

    Lee_ Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    Well, wait- The Avengers had the gruesome scene of the guy graphically getting stabbed and blood running out his mouth. Think about the whole thing a little more.
    But no, I don't think the PG-13 stuff is too much for a Star Wars movie.
     
  10. darksideyesplease

    darksideyesplease Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2005
    The Harry Potter films went back and forth from PG to PG-13 and then back to PG then back to PG-13. I always found it funny that OOTP was PG-13 but HBP was PG. I think things change pretty quickly with movie ratings. Obviously there are some dead set rules but a lot of it seems subjective too when they rate the movies. Blood is a big one and so is dropping the F-bomb more than once in a movie. But depending on the subject matter of the movie, dropping the F-bomb once can make it R. That's why in some romantic comdies they can say the F-word once and get PG-13 but if Bruce Willis says it in Die Hard one time it automatically goes to R. Also Harry Potter can have some blood and be PG-13 but Nolan kept blood out of the Dark Knight, I do believe, in fear of a rated R movie, because the Joker and plot line was so diabolical.

    I think with George's hands being the furthest away they have ever been that PG-13 will actually probably be the goal. But I don't think that it will make it better or worse if it's either rating.
     
  11. Lee_

    Lee_ Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    Agreed. I would love a Star Wars for adults. The live action TV series was supposed to be that per Lucas and McCallum.
    I would be very happy with a PG-13 movie that really cut it though. I am hoping to not have a really campy movie with a lot of Ewok and JJ Binks type of characters, that would be a little disappointing. I don't think they will do that though, I am optimisiic for another Sith or Jedi type of movie, or at least something that isn't right outside of Mickey Mouse.
     
  12. Lee_

    Lee_ Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    .Of course ratings don't make anything per se better, there are great movies that are G and poorly made movies that are R.

    Nonetheless, I am not as entertained by the content of a G movie, and am hoping for something that is not too childish. The flexibility of what can be put in a PG-13 gives it a broader appeal for more ages; movies with a PG these days are really aimed at pre-adolescent kids I think, and that may be a disappointment to a lot of Star Wars fans.
     
  13. darksideyesplease

    darksideyesplease Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2005

    I think even if it is PG it will be borderline PG-13 and vice-versa. The people working on this have to realize some of the short comings or should I say, isn't as popular. They understand that there is still a need for Star Wars to be family friendly but also that a lot of the fans are much older now and that the content needs to grow with them to keep them happy. I'm confident they will find a happy medium.
     
  14. Lee_

    Lee_ Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    That is undoubtedly what they will try to do. There will be some stuff in it meant for kids for sure; that goes a long way toward grabbing new fans for the franchise (more toys sold$). But, I think with all of the heat from older fans around characters like JJ Binks, they will try to avoid overdoing the kid-friendly bit also.

    Funny this thread has a lot of people that are sure it will be one way or the other.

    If I had to guess, I would think they would lean more toward being a little more adult-oriented (something like the level of Sith) than one would expect. This generation of movies just tends to be more in that direction when it comes to action/adventure/Sci Fi. I think it may be even more popular among kids in general that way currently; parents are just a little more wary of taking their kids to it. If you look at recent interpretations of old fantasy characters (e.g. Snow White, Batman, etc.); more serious and dark tones are more prevelant in these stories than in older interpretations for them (and they have more intense, frequent, and graphic violence).
     
  15. Golden Jedi Knight

    Golden Jedi Knight Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2012
    Please, no PG-13 rating. My son will be 5 years old in 2015. I don't want to be in the position of having to decide if I should make him wait 8 more years to see it.
     
  16. DarthLowBudget

    DarthLowBudget Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2004
    It will probably be PG-13 for marketing reasons. It's hard to sell a PG movie to a broad audience. Whether or not the content deserves the label that's likely what it will get.
     
  17. DebonaireNerd

    DebonaireNerd Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    Episode 7 definitely won't be a PG13 film because it will be the first ever Star Wars film in the saga not to be backed by Lucasfilm. People are too curious not only to see how the events of Return Of The Jedi are followed up but also as to the impact that Disney has on the films. Disney is a family brand so at least for their first outing, it makes artistic and commercial sense for Disney to play it safe by wagging their finger at anything that could boost the film to PG13. That's not to say it won't ever happen, but, Disney are under a lot of pressure to get this right given how much belief that has been suspended in their acquisition of Lucasarts.
     
  18. Lee_

    Lee_ Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    I will say that since writing this thread, I have researched a little more of what is currently given a PG. If you designate a recent movie search for only PG movies, you get a long list of VERY childish films, which makes me more confident that this will be PG-13.

    I don't see Star Wars fitting in with I Heart Shakey, Cool Dog, Bratz, The Three Stooges, Beethoven's Christmas Adventure,Spy Kids etc.
    No, I don't think so!
     
  19. DebonaireNerd

    DebonaireNerd Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    That's interesting, I thought the PG13 rating was for heavier subject matter such as graphic violence (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for example). I certainly didn't count on PG being so lightweight. Keeping in mind i'm not in America, in Australia ROTS got the "M" rating which is recommended for ages 15 and above whereas every other SW film was rated PG.
     
  20. Lee_

    Lee_ Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2012
    Right, but remember this is only recently. The rating system has different standards at different times.
     
  21. DebonaireNerd

    DebonaireNerd Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    About the same out here too since most films released out here now do get the M rating whereas in the 1990s there were way more PG rated films being released. In fact some films that were released back then as PG rated are now rated M when shown on TV (Independence Day as an example). To add to the confusion, we also have MA which is restricted to audiences 15 and over then we have R and X which I think are mostly comparable to your rating systems.
     
  22. Ingram_I

    Ingram_I Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2012
    They will likely make it a PG film. And they should.

    First of all, marketing a PG film to a wide audience should not be an issue, especially when considering the franchise at hand. Let’s be realistic here; is anyone who wants to see a new Star Wars movie going to then decide to not see a new Star Wars movie simply because it’ll be rated PG instead of PG-13? Of course not. Disney knows this. Everyone knows this. For that matter, when has a PG over a PG-13 rating ever clearly and openly deterred audiences or disabled a film’s box office success? If anyone will be hesitant to see this movie, it won’t be 40-year old fanboys fussing over aforementioned ratings, but parents understandably questioning whether or not they should bring their littlest ones to see anything that exceeds the guaranteed safety of a wholesome PG. Disney spent over $4 billion on this deal; do you honestly think they’re gonna come out of the gate half-assed by severing what is arguably the most profitable demographic on the planet? Possible, but I highly doubt it. Maximizing the prepubescent audience (for both the film and its merchandizing) will be a primary financial objective.

    Now, as for the content, I’m failing to understand these vague notions that only a PG-13 rating will assure a more "adult" Star Wars and that a more "adult" Star Wars is what Star Wars needs. I couldn’t care less if Star Wars falls (no, remains) out of step with the current status quo of franchise blockbusters. I suppose the argument could be made that if The Empire Strikes, as we know it, was made today then it would garner a PG-13 rating, or that what was PG back in 1980 could pass for PG-13 in 2012. Even so, Attack of the Clones was a PG rated 21st century release replete with content as shaded, ambiguous, deeply suggestive and downright violent as anything from Empire.

    Concerning Star Wars, there’s a certain degree of artistic integrity to maintaining the PG rating. Doing so will encourage both the studio and the filmmakers to maintain a distinctive style in dramatic presentation that I, for one, have always lovingly associated with the film series: a consistent display of emotions, motivations, conflicts and character interactions that are readably accessible to little kids. There’s a timelessness to it, a kind of storybook quality that covers the full spectrum from slapstick humor to mythic tragedy; from political intrigue to outer space dogfights. Contrary to popular rhetoric, the difference between the Anakin/Padme romance and the Han/Leia romance is a difference between purpose, characters and themes, not execution. Both are products of the same conceit in which Star Wars harkens the melodrama of space opera and vintage Hollywood circa 1930s to 1940s. A PG-13 rating would not automatically negate this style (more on Episode III in a moment) but it could start things down a slippery slope where the filmmakers succumb to fashioning the series with hip contemporary antics, faux naturalism and pseudo-method acting performances in the vein of, say, The Avengers or The Amazing Spider Man or Snow White and the Huntsman. Bleh ...no thanks. Such superficial "adultisms" -- pandering to modern cynical trends -- is the last thing a Star Wars movie needs.

    To be clear, I’m certainly not adverse to the idea of a PG-13 rated Star Wars film, but Revenge of the Sith wasn’t anymore serious than the previous two prequel installments, or, at least, Episodes I and II were no less sincere. The PG-13 rating for Sith can be solely attributed to two key featured moments where the murdering of children was indicated and where traumatic physical suffering was shown up close and personal. And yet these moments were not included by Lucas arbitrarily in some glib attempt to update Star Wars for today‘s generation where "edgier" is better, but were crucially organic to the story and earned over the course of the prequel trilogy, if not the entire saga. It was a long narrative road to get there. If Disney whishes to once again delve the series into similar depths with a PG-13 of their own, they need to earn it as well with specific storied content intense enough to warrant such a rating. What they should absolutely NOT do is work from the presumption that any new Star Wars movie needs to be PG-13 via general characteristics of every other PG-13 film...just because.
     
    gregvader123 likes this.
  23. Tan-Wessel

    Tan-Wessel Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 31, 2001
    Why not take her to see ANH and the OT in a theater first if you want some lightning strikes? Theaters are always screening all the SW here and there as events regularly enough. By 2015, it won't matter and you'll have already experienced her having her SW introduction that you're looking for. Then it'll just be a matter of whether you'll wait a few more years to let her watch a PG-13 Ep7 or not depending on how you feel her maturity, enjoyment and level of desire are.
     
  24. spoooooky

    spoooooky Jedi Master

    Registered:
    May 2, 2000
    I would love to, but I live in Wyoming right now. No theatres within a few hundred miles screen the older films. (Though we may move before she is much older) I will very possibly show her the OT first at any rate, but was just thinking aloud.
     
  25. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Maturity, level of enjoyment and desire make a big difference as far as whether kids should see this movie anyway. It depends on the kid, some kids are able to handle gore and violence whereas others are freaked out by it, and all PG-13 movies are not the same. My kids (7 and 5) have seen all the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter movies and enjoyed them, watch them over and over, but Curt Conners' lizard form in The Amazing Spiderman bothered my oldest for a day or so (only for a day or so, he now wants the Blu-Ray).

    They'll be 10 and 8 when Episode VII comes out and if it's rated less than R, I'll take them to see it. I'm less concerned with the rating than with the content of the film.