Here’s Why ‘Black Widow’ Is Rated PG-13

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At long last, as Black Widow is barreling towards its hopefully final release date, the film has been rated by the MPAA. It’s no surprise here that it’s PG-13, as has been the rating of every single Marvel Cinematic Universe movie thus far. But for those looking for clues as to what to expect from the Scarlett Johansson spinoff, the reasoning for the rating might be of interest.

Per the MPAA, Black Widow has been rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence/action, some language, and thematic material.”

This actually stands in contrast to some of the other Marvel movies, which get the distinction of “sequences of sci-fi violence and action,” qualifying the action as “sci-fi” and dropping the “intense” descriptor.

Image via Marvel Studios

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Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War but predates the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame… obviously. Indeed, most wondered how Black Widow fit into the MCU timeline given that Johansson’s character dies in Avengers: Endgame, but Marvel saw fit to give the character her own sendoff with this prequel of sorts. The film also flashes back to events from Natasha Romanoff’s past, so we’ll finally get to fill in the character’s backstory that’s only been hinted at in films like Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

So yeah, Black Widow is PG-13, and we can expect some “intense” violence and action from the spy thriller. Which is to be expected. The story finds Natasha reconnecting with close people from her past back in Russia – a family of sorts, all of whom are presumably spies and/or assassins. Hence the dropping of the “sci-fi” descriptor as Black Widow looks to be a more grounded affair in the vein of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.