Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, no?

Originally announced as an R-rated project, Sony Pictures’ Venom has slowly become a PG-13 that the filmmakers claim “push the limits” of the rating. As a lifelong fan of the comic character, I’m trying my best to accept this truth and be open to the idea that Sony just wants the film to appeal to a broader audience. It’s a business first and foremost, and it’s hard to blame Sony for wanting to tap into the Spider-Man audience, which is predominantly teens. As for “pushing the limits” of a PG-13, I know that, at times, there’s truth in this statement. It’s quite possible that director Ruben Fleischer did, in fact, have his cake and ate it too. Maybe, just maybe, Fleischer’s version of a R-rating ended up being PG-13? I’m willing to give them all the benefit of the doubt. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that this is all politics and that behind the scenes everyone is steaming from their ears.

Everyone is putting on their best smile for the Venom junket, although Tom Hardy sounds like a man secretly frustrated. Is he grinning through his teeth? Here’s what he said when ComicsExplained asked about his favorite scene:

“Things that aren’t in this movie,” he replied.

“There are like 30 to 40 minutes worth of scenes that aren’t in this movie… all of them. Mad puppeteering scenes, dark comedy scenes. You know what I mean? They just never made it in.”

Obviously, it’s typical that a lot of a film is cut from the final product, especially when most blockbusters go under a series of reshoots, which Venom did. The question here isn’t as to if it’s a big deal that there are 30-40 minutes of lobotomized footage, it’s as to why? Especially if they’re Hardy’s favorite bits? It’s all a bit confusing.

As for the coveted rating, Collider reported back in March of 2017 that Venom will be rated R. They say the plan was for the film, scripted by Dante Harper (Alien: Covenant), to launch Sony’s own dark Marvel universe. It made a whole lot of sense with the major hits of Logan and Deadpool.

And while nobody part of production ever confirmed plans for an R rating, Columbia Pictures’ president Sanford Panitch raised eyebrows when he said that Venom will draw on the work of John Carpenter or David Cronenberg while promising “more pop and fun.”

“We only ever talked about this movie as being PG-13,” Fleisher told Comicbook.com.

“What I’ve said in the past is that we wanted to push the violence to the hilt. The Dark Knight was always a huge reference point for me, personally, just as far as how far you could take a PG-13.”

The film’s producer Matt Tolmach added: “Everyone is asking us that. Is there an R-rated cut sitting there? There isn’t. We came into this production and the development of the movie wanting to make a movie that was true to Venom, true to the comics, and true to the character, but at the same time is a movie that 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds can see.

“We had to push right up against it. We’re 15+ in England. It’s not like we just wanted to make a family film. We wanted to push it as hard as we could, but also to make it accessible. That was always the goal.”

It’s hard to know what the truth is, but all of the footage looks exemplary except for the lack of gore. Was there ever that much violence in Venom or was it all implied? This is hugely debatable and will cast a dark cloud over the film if it doesn’t deliver the goods this coming weekend. With that said, we’re getting a solo Venom movie in theaters. It’s hard to complain.