Star Wars: The Force Awakens has officially received the MPAA rating that makes 12-year olds feel cool when they go to the theater: PG-13. It's the second Star Wars film to receive a PG-13 rating after Revenge of the Sith, though to be fair PG-13 didn't exist until 1984.
Why is The Force Awakens a PG-13 film? The only indication we have is that, according to the MPAA description, the film has "sci-fi action violence." The other movies that were rated PG-13 today have "intense situations of peril," "some suggestive content and smoking," and "suggestive content, innuendo, and partial nudity" — so I think it's safe to say The Force Awakens will have none of that. So, what might happen under the guise of PG-13? A few guesses:
- Stormtroopers getting shot
- X-Wings and TIE fighters going pew pew pew
- Finn saying "Hell"
- Force choking
- Explosions (but never close enough to the heroes to trigger "intense situations of peril")
- BB-8 getting "decapitated"
- Jar Jar Binks' skeleton in a wide shot across the desert
- Han Solo saying "Hell"
- Dangerous lightsaber design
- An alien putting a hookah nozzle up to their mouth-like thing, but no actual smoke is seen or suggested
- No more than 24 inches of appendages being removed in a non-bloodied manner (e.g. lightsaber)
- Chewbacca saying "Hell"
- Positive depictions of a cult
- Unsafe working environments on battle stations contrary to OSHA regulations
- Robotic nudity
Today's Ratings Bulletin: https://t.co/o1HUwITxV5 pic.twitter.com/BSTYT2nhJz
— FilmRatings.com (@FilmRatings) November 24, 2015