Punisher: War Zone Going PG-13?

Posted by on August 15th, 2008   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics, Rumours
Source: Dark Horizons

There’s no doubt about it… Marvel’s upcoming film Punisher: War Zone is shaping up to be a disaster. Why they decided to restart the Punisher franchise for a second time is beyond me, but it looks like it will end up being a complete waste of time and money anyway. While many felt that the Louis Leterrier’s Incredible Hulk improved a great deal on Ang Lee’s Hulk, I’d be very surprised if this reboot ends up satisfying anyone.

From what I remember, the main complaint about the 2004 movie The Punisher starring Thomas Jane, is that it wasn’t dark enough. (Well, that and it starred John Travolta as the main villain.) But hey, at least it was rated R, right? But now, according to Latino Review, there is a battle going on over at Lionsgate because some higher-ups want to cut Punisher: War Zone down to a PG-13 rating, effectively eliminating the only selling point it has. Are they crazy?

In the past there has been a lot of outrage over movies like Live Free or Die Hard going for a PG-13 audience, and I’ve always said that you can still make a decent action movie with a PG-13 rating. However, The Punisher is one character where PG-13 just won’t work. Without over-the-top violence and gruesome deaths, there is no point. Now, this is all still just a rumour, and it does seem a bit hard to believe considering all the violent footage they recently unveiled at Comic Con. However, Latino Review points out that the success of the PG-13 rated The Dark Knight may be the reason for the change of heart. Listen up Lionsgate… you don’t have a masterpiece on your hands here. The best thing you can do is use Rambo as a template, and let the limbs fly, because that’s all we want to see!



  • It actually wasn’t even supposed to be a reboot, thomas jane was coming back but he hated the script so much that he left.

  • Matt

    ooooh, tough luck punisher fans. RIP War Zone. Better luck next reboot.

    @ Drew
    lol, that is very sad. So he gave up this after agreeing to be in Stephen King’s The Mist and David Arquette’s The Tripper, which made all of $20,000 at the box office.

  • The Mist was pretty good. Haven’t see The Tripper, though. Anyway, it’s not like he’s known to be on great projects, so you know it’s bad if he doesn’t want to do it.

  • Frank

  • This is actually the third reboot as I’m sure you just forgot. Yet again the Dolph Lundgren version will probably be better in all of its corny glory.

    I was afraid they would do this. You’re right…it should be just like Rambo! The Punisher does not fit into the huge Avengers crossover plan; they just need to do this one up with awesome gore. There is a huge market for R-rated comic book movies! At least Jigsaw is in it…even though he looks lame as fuck.

  • Jason

    I actually like the original. It wasn’t made in the now-generic “THIS IS A COMIC BOOK MOVIE” kind of way that I’ve grown tired of like Spiderman and Iron Man. I really like all the nods to Spaghetti Westerns and stuff. I didn’t think they needed a reboot and after seeing the trailer to this, I have no confidence in this movie. It looks like Joel Schumacher’s Punisher with the ridiculous neon lighting and exceptionally cheesy and bad dialogue. The only interesting thing about it is Dominic West as Jigsaw. I won’t be seeing this regardless.

  • It’s a reboot? Screw this.