One of the most surprising news stories of the past week had to be the fact Fox finally greenlit a Deadpool movie. The film had been in development for years. Director Tim Miller was attached, a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick had been floating around the internet for years, and rumors swirled of test footage shot with star Ryan Reynolds. Finally, that footage leaked, showing a confident, vulgar Deadpool joyfully killing a group of men driving in an SUV. The tone of the comic was there, and yet one thought the film would happen.

Still, the leaked footage rekindled the buzz on the film and Fox is now eyeing a February 12, 2016 release date for Deadpool. It all begs the question, “How and why did this happen now?” One source says it’s because everyone figured out a way to make the decidedly R-rated character PG-13. Read more about the rumored Deadpool rating below.

The Deadpool rating rumor came up on the Schmoes Know Meet the Movie Press podcast (via Screenrant) where host Mark Reilly said the following:

They figured out how to make it PG-13. And therefore ‘not lose its soul’ – and that’s a quote – of the script so that they can make it.

One of the things that makes Deadpool so popular is that he’s R-rated. So, if this is true, fans might start lighting their torches. But don’t forget this is the MPAA we’re talking about here. A movie like Boyhood is rated R while Transformers: Age of Extinction, in which thousands of people perish, is PG-13.

A PG-13 means two things: No blood and one F-word. The blood doesn’t really matter because no comic book movies have any blood. Language, however, is part of Deadpool’s DNA. To get a PG-13 and be true to the character, the script will have to push that rating to the limit, create dirty sounding words and using inventive language. It won’t be easy.

There’s also the question of whether PG-13 really matters anymore. Kids are going to see a movie if they want to see a movie. Parents are going to take them to see an R-rated movie if the kids want, and some theaters don’t enforce ratings restrictions. To me, the whole argument feels incredibly arbitrary. If the Deadpool movie is good, no rating will stop it from being a hit. But a PG-13 rating might hinder the creativity of the filmmakers. Try and make the movie you want, Tim Miller. Quality will triumph over a meaningless rating every time.

Do you believe the Deadpool PG-13 rumor?