The MCU will (almost certainly) be getting its first-ever R rating when Deadpool 3 arrives next year, which will be a big deal: Of the 31 films they’ve released theatrically thus far, all of them have been a nice-but-not-that-nice PG-13. (This was a bummer for Sam Raimi fans last year.) Time was that rating meant you could drop one, maybe even two f-bombs. No one in Hollywood really does that anymore, which is a shame. But if a new clip from the next Marvel movie is to be believed, it looks like they’re finally really embracing the rating.
A new clip from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 dropped Friday and it finds our heroes on Earth, with most of them scrambling to figure out old Earth technology. That’s to say Nebula can’t for the life of her suss out how to open what looks like an American car from the 1970s. Honestly the way this particular car door used to open would probably be tricky to anyone not from this planet. But Nebula’s inability to crack it makes Chris Pratt’s already anxious Star-Lord so flustered that he yells, “Get the [bleep] door!”
The word is bleeped, but you don’t need to be a professional lip reader to know that Peter Quill is definitely saying “f*cking.”
This fine detail was caught by The AV Club, and it begs the question: Is this an MCU first? Yes and no. Some of the Netflix-era Marvel shows had some f-words (plus some other R-rated material). There have been some censored deployments, as in Garry Shandling’s angry senator telling Tony Stark, “F*ck you, buddy.” Alas, that was shown as it was on live TV, so it was censored. ScreenRant helpfully broke down all the time someone almost says it but is cut off after the first two letters. But no one has been able to complete the word, and the clip suggests this is the MCU’s maiden fully-uttered “f-*-c-k.”
Then again, a couple things could still happen. They could dub in a “hell” or something over top Pratt clearly saying “f*cking.” (They could even deepfake it so it looks like he’s not saying the f-word.) The clip could also be edited for the final cut, or not make it at all. If so, that would be an f-word tease, which would indeed be strange. These films are meant for all ages, including children, but the kids need to learn about the f-word sooner or later.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 opens on May 5.
(Via The AV Club)