One of the DC Universe‘s current main actors has discussed the potential of another R-rated movie for the franchise – and looking at how very possible it appears underlines how far DC has come up to this point. While DC has some of the best superhero movies of all time, it’s also fair to say not every film that’s adapted DC’s lore has been a hit over the course of the franchise’s extensive on-screen history.
Similarly, though DC has developed a reputation for crafting a range of the most iconic darker superhero movies in the genre, some of its most successful films have been decidedly the opposite of that – with Aquaman, for example, grossing over a billion dollars in its worldwide box office – and even many of DC’s conceptually darker movies avoided ever going into fully adult, R-rated territory.
This makes the current trajectory of the DCU – wherein R-rated release seem as possible as more all-ages appropriate fair – all the more striking, and all the more exciting in the way it opens up the door for some big screen stories that otherwise wouldn’t have been conceivable, as one of the franchise’s major actors has helped make clearer than ever in recent history.
Jason Momoa’s R-Rated Lobo Movie Hopes Show Just How Far DC’s Films Have Come
Jason Momoa’s impending appearance in Supergirl as Lobo has naturally drawn in much conversation around the character and his place in the DCU timeline. When discussing Lobo’s upcoming future in the DC Universe – and whether a solo Lobo movie could be on the horizon – with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, the actor commented that:
“It’s all I want, and I promise — I’m just going to put this out there right now — I do not have any interest in making a Lobo PG-13 movie. So, will he be a part of some other movies? If they want me, I’ll be there. But if I make a solo movie, I’m not doing it unless it’s rated R.”
Interestingly, this seems decidedly possible for the DCU to pull off, given we have an assortment of R-rated releases having already debuted or being about to debut in the franchise – including Peacemaker season 2, Creature Commandos, and the upcoming Clayface – and given we already have more DCU movies focusing on less well-known or often less central DC characters than ever before.
All of this speaks volumes about just how far DC has come in the past few years. Even before the move to the DCU, James Gunn made R-rated DC movies go from borderline unthinkable to far more commonplace, with Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad paving the way for the new approach the DCU itself is taking when it comes to allowing films to have a broader range of tones and ratings.
Combine this with an increased willingness to feature figures like Lobo in the world – not to mention an increased willingness to put underappreciated characters center stage, as is the case with Lanterns, Supergirl, and many other teased DCU releases aready – and what currently seems possible for DC’s cinematic universe is worlds away from what previously seemed to be the setup.
DC’s Upcoming Releases Paint A Truly Promising Picture For The Franchise’s On-Screen Future
2026’s DC release slate provides a particularly promising look at what’s possible for the franchise in the years to come, since there’s a real blend of offerings on display here. Of course, the DCU’s two 2026 movies alone show this admirably, since Supergirl and Clayface are very different in most regards – with the first being a more family-friendly sci-fi romp, and the latter being an R-rated body horror.
That said, the wider release roster for DC makes its potential for variation right now all the more evident, since My Adventures With Superman season 3 is just starting to kick off during this June, Batman: The Animated Series spiritual successor Batman: Caped Crusader‘s second season is going live not long after that, the gritty live-action DCU show Lanterns is due to release sometime soon after Supergirl, and Batman: Knightfall Part 1 is due to debut at the Annecy film festival this June too.
Looking at the wide assortment of different directions all these releases take DC’s mythos in, it seems the door is open for even more unique movies and shows going forward for the franchise – and for plenty of these to be within DC’s main cinematic universe itself, since almost any major character seems primed to get their own DC Universe release right now so long as their story hits hard enough, be they Lobo or someone entirely different.