The Batman is rated PG-13 for "strong violent and disturbing content"

The Batman has received an official age rating – and it's a PG-13.

The rating, per FilmRatings.com, is for "strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material." That all sounds very dark, even if it's not enough to score the film an R rating (the equivalent of a 15 or 18 rating in the UK).

DC has never shied away from going R rated before – The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Joker, and Zack Snyder's Justice League were all given the rating – so it might come as some surprise that The Batman has scored a PG-13. That does open the film up to a wider audience, though, which gives it a better chance of succeeding at the box office amid the pandemic – especially as the film looks set to keep its March release date.

Plus, the Dark Knight trilogy, Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, and Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever and Batman & Robin all received a PG-13 rating, so The Batman is following tradition.

So far, trailers for The Batman have been moody and atmospheric, promising a brutal detective story with Robert Pattinson's titular vigilante going up against Paul Dano's villainous Riddler.

Colin Farrell co-stars as the Penguin, while Zoë Kravitz is Catwoman, Andy Serkis is Alfred Pennyworth, and Jeffrey Wright is Jim Gordon. Barry Keoghan has also joined the cast, and rumors have linked him to the role of the Joker – though whether that's really the case remains to be seen.

This isn't the last we'll see of The Batman's universe, either. Two spin-offs are in the works, one focused on corruption in the Gotham City Police Department, while another will star Farrell's Penguin.

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.