Joker Director Todd Phillips on How Long it Took to Get the Film’s R Rating

Joker looks like the DC film many people have been waiting for since Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy ended. This grounded take on the iconic DC villain has a lot of people excited and the fact that it's R rated means that it can go places that other comic book movies can't. In a fun bit of trivia, director Todd Phillips revealed that it took him a year to get the R rating approved from Warner Bros.

Speaking with The LA Times, Phillips said he had to deal with pitching the film numerous times and addressing concerns from the higher-ups, like how they sell Joker merchandise to children. Thankfully, Phillips stuck with his guns and the Joker R rated movie was given the green light. While you can't blame Warner Bros. for being concerned, we can agree that this was the right move to make.

"It was a year-long process from when we finished the script just to get the new people on board with this vision, because I pitched it to an entirely different team than made it. There were emails about: ‘You realize we sell Joker pajamas at Target.' There were a zillion hurdles, and you just sort of had to navigate those one at a time.... At the time, I would curse them in my head every day. But then I have to put it in perspective and go, ‘They're pretty bold that they did this.'"

Going for a gangster movie vibe was a bit risky but this will set Joker apart from every other comic book movie in the market. While the genre can be hit and miss for me, there is a very good chance that this film will do great, especially with Joaquin Phoenix acting his ass off.

Joker will hit theaters on October 6.

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