As promised, we have more details on the R-rated Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will hit Blu-ray and DVD later this year. And contrary to the initial assumption that Warner Bros. was trying to capitalize on Deadpool’s success with a restricted version of the superhero epic, director Zack Snyder confirms that the Ultimate Edition exists more as a director’s cut — not an excuse to ramp up the violence and profanity.

EW has released more from their Batman v Superman cover story, including plenty of details on that R-rated Ultimate Edition, which Snyder describes as a director’s cut incorporating material that had to be excised to keep the runtime down to a manageable length. He also seems to hint here that there may be additional footage in the credits:

We were just like, ‘Okay, look. We’re not making a three-hour movie. I mean, even I didn’t want to make a three-hour movie. I drove the cuts probably harder than anyone. The studio, they were willing to let the movie indulge pretty hard. But I felt like it’s at a manageable two-and-a-half hours. Let’s also not forget the credits are super long, the end credits. So the movie’s closer to two hours and 22 minutes.

Yesterday brought news that Jena Malone’s mystery character had been cut from the film, though her scene(s) will be restored for the Ultimate Edition. While Snyder won’t reveal who Malone is playing, he does confirm that she isn’t Robin or Batgirl, and he says we can expect more characters who were cut from the theatrical release to appear in the R-rated version:

There’s a couple, like, Ahman Green, the running back from the Green Bay Packers, he’s in it. And C.T. Fletcher is like this bodybuilder muscle-guru from Compton, this awesome guy. He’s amazing, and he’s in it. And then there’s just a lot of these Easter Eggs in the Director’s Cut that I think are gonna be fun for everyone.

In addition to all those fun easter eggs, Snyder says the Ultimate Edition version will have a “giant” Justice League tease. The director previously said that Doomsday’s origins would be further explored in Justice League, so there may be some additional footage related to the Superman baddie.

But additional characters and easter eggs couldn’t have earned Batman v Superman that R rating for home release. WB producer Charles Roven confirms that there is more violence in this cut, but don’t expect buckets of blood or anything:

There’s not a lot of blood in our movies. The ratings board also judges their PG-13 and R ratings by what they consider to be a level of intensity and how much that intensity goes throughout the entire movie. There are some pretty intense scenes inBatman v Superman, and if they went on longer and had that same level of intensity, that might cause the ratings board to shift their rating.

Filmmakers can typically tone their film down from an R to a PG-13 by merely shortening the length of violent scenes. It seems silly, but when dealing with the MPAA, a rating often comes down to a matter of seconds — if even that. Basically, the R rating for the Ultimate Edition is somewhat extraneous; the real attraction is the additional footage you won’t see in theaters.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives on March 25.

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