Prometheus has yet to have the rule run over it by the MPAA, but given the amount of slippery, scream-inducing terror hinted at in the trailer, we wouldn't be surprised to see it bag an R rating. However, will Fox be happy to kiss goodbye to the potential profits such a certificate would prevent?
Well, not according to Fox CEO Tom Rothman, who promises that whatever version of the film Ridley Scott wants to put out will be the one that meets the censors.
"I can assure the fans absolutely they can take it that the film will not be compromised either way," says Rothman. "So if that means that the film is R, then it’ll be an R. If it’s PG-13, then it’ll be a PG-13. But it will not be compromised."
At the recent footage reveal, Scott spoke about what a nonsense the whole issue of certification is, and called upon the MPAA to "get their house in order". It certainly seems unthinkable that he would give the go-ahead to a sanitised cut of the film in order to wring a few more quid out of the box office.
That said, it may be that Prometheus 's horror is more implied than explicit, allowing the film to get away with a broader certificate. That said, if there really is a scene to rival the impact of the chestburster (as Scott has hinted there will be), that's probably not the case...
Prometheus opens in the UK on 1 June 2012.
