RoboCop: Joel Kinnaman Got in Trouble After Claiming Reboot Was Rated R
RoboCop actor Joel Kinnaman, who starred in the 2014 reboot, says he woke up to 47 missed calls after incorrectly stating the movie would be rated R.
Joel Kinnaman, who starred in the 2014 reboot of RoboCop, got in trouble for claiming the movie was rated R. Since its launch in 1987 with the original film, RoboCop has become a full-fledged franchise, spawning sequels, TV series, and video games. It follows Alex Murphy, a police officer from Detroit who becomes the title cyborg after a fatal injury. Peter Weller played Murphy in both the original RoboCop movie and 1990's RoboCop 2. However, Robert John Burke took over the role in the third film. Following a 21-year gap between movies, the RoboCop reboot was released with Kinnaman in the starring role.
Though the most recent film, which was directed by José Padilha, provoked a sense of nostalgia in some, reviews were largely mixed. This was partly due to a lack of violence and humor that made the original RoboCop so good. The 2014 movie received a PG-13 rating, making it only the second film in the franchise to do so. The first two movies were rated R, while RoboCop 3 was also rated PG-13. However, based on a new interview, it sounds like the reboot's lower rating surprised Kinnaman.
Appearing on The Playlist Podcast, the actor discussed his RoboCop role, calling it "the first big movie I did." He also shared an amusing story about incorrectly assuming the film would be rated R, based on the first two movies in the franchise. Kinnaman said:
The first interview I did for RoboCop, and it was right after I was cast…I got the first questions for RoboCop, and the question was, ‘So, is it going to be R-rated?’ And I was like, ‘Of course, it’s going to be R-rated! Only an idiot would make RoboCop a PG-13 movie.’ Cut to the next morning—47 missed calls I woke up to.
Considering the reaction to the RoboCop reboot, Kinnaman's comments are a bit ironic. It seems many fans would have enjoyed another R-rated installment in the franchise. However, it's impossible to know if more violence actually would have helped the film's reception. At the very least, the PG-13 rating made RoboCop accessible to a wider audience, which likely helped its box office numbers. For those who worked on the movie, that may have been an important enough factor to forgo more violent content. It remains to be seen if any future installments in the RoboCop franchise will earn an R rating, but it sounds like Kinnman's on board.
Since his role in the film, the actor has gone on to become a major star, and the movie had a big impact on his career. It cemented him as a bankable action hero, and skills honed while working on RoboCop have likely come in handy in films like Suicide Squad and its upcoming follow up. Based on Kinnaman's funny anecdote, it sounds like he looks back on his role in the RoboCop reboot fondly, recognizing its effect on his career and future prospects.
Source: The Playlist Podcast