LOBO: DC's Cinematic Universe's first R-Rated Comic Book Movie?

R-Rated seems to be a dirty word in the world of comic book movies and as far as the studios are concerned a complete no no as regards their shared Universes. The reasoning seems purely financial related and I am not about to argue the fact, it is true that R-Rated movies tend not to generate the revenue of their PG-13 counterparts. But that said R-Rated doesn't mean unsuccessful. Let me give a rundown of three R-Rated successes and their grosses.

The Matrix Releoaded = 742,128,461 million worldwide.

The Hangover = 467,483,912 million worldwide.

300 = 456,068,181 million worldwide.

Now I know that the Matrix sequel benefited from being a follow up to a hugely successful first film, but it still stands that it took in huge revenue (the less said about the threequel the better) but the Hangover and 300 were successes based on both quality and word of mouth. The latter itself being a comic book adaption.

These are 3 examples of genre films that benefited from the rating as far as creativity and didn't suffer from it financially. Which brings me to Lobo. Lobo is a popular character among comic book fans for his ultra violence and humor and because of this I ask one question, does anybody really want to see a PG-13 Lobo movie? There is no doubt and audience that would like to see the character on screen but I doubt that they would like to see a neutered version lacking the characters trademark exaggerated bloodshed and adult themed content. I'm sure Warner Brothers is looking to exploit the character's popularity but I fear that in trying to reach a larger audience with a PG-13 rating they will completely miss the point of the character. I think the studio should go all out and make the movie that Lobo deserves. Any other way would result in failure.

There is another question that arises from the possibility of a R-Rated Lobo movie, can the character exist in the more family friendly DC Cinematic Universe. A lot of fans would love to see Lobo and Superman throw down on screen. Common logic would say an R-Rated film wouldn't allow for that, but that's not entirely true in my opinion. I ask instead, why not?

Lobo can be part of the DC Universe and still be R-Rated in his own films. The reason I say this is context. While MoS and the other DC Universe films will not show gratuitous bloodshed, nudity, strong language and sex that doesn't mean the concepts don't exist in that world those films just don't need to show it while Lobo can. His own solo films excessive content shouldn't negate his appearance in a JL movie in the future or exclude him from the expanded Universe. When he shows up in the more family friendly films he'll act in the context of those films. I actually believe this is a nice idea as a younger audience will be introduced to Lobo and then as they get older they will discover the real uninhibited Lobo in his solo films.

In short I believe I believe an R-Rated Lobo movie could be a success for Warner Bros as it could help further diversify their CBM output and set them apart yet again from their rivals, Marvel Studios.

SoA.