As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits Disney+, the space-faring epic received an historic rating on the platform.
James Gunn's MCU swan song is finally streaming, allowing fans to say goodbye to this particular era of the Guardians team.
Leading into this super-powered threequel, much was made about it being one of the "more mature" entries into Marvel Studios' action-packed franchise.
This came in the form of some brutal violence towards animals, as well as the MCU's first f-bomb. However, despite all this, the movie still received the traditional PG-13 rating that Marvel Studios has become accustomed to.
Guardians 3 Gets a Historic Disney+ Rating
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 broke new ground with its historic rating on Disney+.
On Disney+/Hotstar India, Vol. 3 has an age rating of U/A 16+, making it the first Marvel Studios film to be released with a rating higher than U/A 13+ on the platform.
India currently has only three movie ratings for theatrical releases - U (all ages), U/A (12+ without parental supervision), and A (18+ only). However, on streaming platforms, the U/A ratings are split into U/A 7+, U/A 13+ and U/A 16+.
Guardians 3 was originally given a U/A 12+ for its run in theaters but was then changed to U/A 16+.
The only other MCU projects to get anything higher than a U/A 13+ rating are Moon Knight (U/A 16+), She-Hulk (U/A 16+), Werewolf by Night (A), and Secret Invasion (U/A 16+)
Why Did Vol. 3 Get a Rating Bump on Disney+?
Of course, there are different standards across the world when it comes to ratings. While some territories may be more okay with nudity or language in content, they may also be more tepid when it comes to bloody violence.
And Marvel Studios has been no stranger to that, as it releases its movies and shows around the world.
The franchise has seen things like Punisher or Doctor Strange 2 have their ratings changed as they have either moved streamers (in Punisher's case) or made the jump from theaters to Disney+ (Multiverse of Madness).
As for why Guardians 3 could even warrant such a high rating in India, well it likely has to do with the use of language never seen before in an MCU film (Chris Pratt's f-bomb), and perhaps the darker, more violent nature of the movie.
There is some seriously disturbing imagery in Jame Gunn's Guardians threequel, and that likely played into why this 16+ rating was even in consideration.
With all this said, the film remains at its PG-13 rating stateside.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is streaming now on Disney+.
