10 Films Intended To Be R-Rated That Got Neutered To PG-13

The Expendables was designed as a throw-back franchise, in which classic action stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger could pretend like it was the glory days once again and deliver some vintage practical action thrills. As a result, the films were always hard-R, leaning into the gratuitous violence and language of the era they were attempting to recapture.

So it was more than a little strange when Stallone began speaking publicly about his desire to cut Expendables 3 down to a lower rating, so as to allow younger audiences to see the film. It was only once the film was in post-production that this possibility was even mentioned, but as Stallone said just months prior to release;

"We want to reach as many people as possible. It’s very close to an R, believe me, it’s right there. But I think we owe it to the next generation. We thought we’d join that club for a while.

However, Stallone would go on to regret this decision. The cut to PG-13 undermined the entire reason audiences showed up for the first two films and getting greedy cost the film, with Expendables 3 being far-and-away the lowest grossing of any of the films.