As If There Was Any Doubt, JOKER Has Been Rated R

It seems unlikely that anyone actually believed that Todd Phillips' forthcoming Joker movie might not be rated R (they've been pitching this thing as a hard-R crime flick/Taxi Driver-esque character study from the very beginning), but on the off-chance you had any doubts, the MPAA has made it official: Joker has been rated R for "Strong Bloody Violence, Disturbing Behavior, Language and Brief Sexual Images."

This all tracks with the version of the Joker screenplay that's been making the rounds of the past few months. Disturbing behavior? Check. Language? Check. Strong bloody violence? Double check. Brief sexual images? Mmyeah, can confirm (don't worry -  unless something changed during one of those on-set rewrites, Joker himself does not bone anyone in Joker). 

Does this mean anything in regards to the film's quality? Of course not. Does it mean that Joker won't be pulling any punches? Probably. It's become increasingly clear that this is the Joker movie that many Bat-fans have always wanted to see, and between what we've read and everything we've heard, it seems safe to say that this one will make some fans very happy. 

Whether or not you're among that section of fans is another topic for another day, and one best set aside for discussion after we've all actually seen Phillps' film. The good news, such as it is, is that we won't have to wait much longer: Joker hits theaters on October 4th. That's just over 40 days from now. Please adjust your schedules accordingly.