Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana Gets Under-15 Advisory in Australia

Highlights

A 34-minute presentation of Ramayana has received an 'M' classification in Australia.
The advisory rating is for "moderate violence" and is not recommended for children under 15.
The certification comes ahead of the film's expected trailer launch later this month.

Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana has received its first international classification ahead of its trailer release, with Australian authorities advising that a 34-minute presentation of the film is not recommended for viewers under the age of 15.

The Australian Classification Board awarded the footage an 'M' (Mature) classification for "moderate violence". While the rating is advisory rather than legally restrictive, it indicates that the content is considered more suitable for mature audiences.

What the Australian advisory means

Under Australia's classification system, films rated 'M' are not recommended for children under 15 years of age because they may contain moderate violence or themes that require a mature outlook. However, children under 15 are still legally permitted to watch such content.

The Classification Board also published a brief synopsis of the film, describing the story as following a young prince and princess whose marriage and exile begin a legendary journey shaped by love, duty and destiny.

Certification comes ahead of trailer release

The Australian classification arrives days before the makers are expected to unveil the theatrical trailer for Ramayana.

In India, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has already cleared the trailer with a 'U' (Universal) certificate. Reports indicate that two trailers have been certified, with runtimes of approximately four minutes and four minutes 15 seconds.

The 34-minute presentation submitted in Australia is understood to be separate from the theatrical trailer. Although the makers have not confirmed its contents, online speculation suggests it could be the extended footage previously shown at CinemaCon earlier this year.

Cast and release schedule

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman.

Produced by Namit Malhotra, the two-part epic features music by A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer. The first instalment is scheduled for release during Diwali 2026, with the second part set to follow on Diwali 2027.

ramayana censor australia ranbir kapoor

James Gunn could lose his job at DC Studios within months: 8 reasons why

James Gunn attends the premiere of "Supergirl" on June 22, 2026 in New York City.

Getty Images

James Gunn could lose his job at DC Studios within months: 8 reasons why

Highlights:

Reports suggest James Gunn's position at DC Studios could be decided within months, following Supergirl's disappointing 2026 box office performance.
It's not the first time his job has been on the line. He was fired outright from Marvel in 2018, then rehired within a year after a fan campaign.
Along the way, he's picked fights over Superman's politics, a squirrel, a swear word, and a Deadline casting report, dividing fans on whether he's a bold creative voice or a liability the studio can't keep excusing.

The question DC fans are actually arguing about right now isn't whether James Gunn has had controversies. It's whether this one, the one about his own job, is the controversy that finally sticks. Reports suggest his future at DC Studios could be decided within months, after Supergirl underperformed at the box office this year, turning a co-CEO who built his reputation on creative confidence into someone whose own leadership is now the story.

It's not the first time Gunn's career has hinged on a single moment. Here's the full run of controversies that got him here, and why this one feels different.

1. The 2018 firing that cost him Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Old tweets from 2008 to 2011, joking about topics including pedophilia and rape, resurfaced after being dug up by conservative commentators. Disney moved fast: studio chairman Alan Horn called the posts "indefensible" and severed the company's relationship with Gunn within a day of the story breaking, pulling him off Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 entirely.

2. Gunn's apology, and the political angle nobody expected

Gunn responded almost immediately, calling the old jokes "totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative" and saying he'd regretted them for years. The story took an unexpected political turn when Donald Trump Jr. amplified the resurfaced tweets on social media, given Gunn's history as a vocal Trump critic, adding a partisan layer to what had started as an entertainment industry story.

3. The reinstatement that split fans down the middle

Less than a year later, Disney reversed course and rehired Gunn to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after cast members and fans campaigned on his behalf. It remains one of the rare instances of a major studio publicly reversing a firing of this scale, and it didn't land as a clean redemption story for everyone watching.

4. Superman's political messaging, and Dean Cain's pushback

When Gunn's 2025 Superman swapped the character's old "truth, justice, and the American way" tagline for "truth, justice, and a better tomorrow", and framed Superman explicitly as an immigrant story, it drew public criticism from Dean Cain, who played the character in the 1990s series Lois & Clark. Cain accused the film of being reshaped to fit contemporary politics. Some fans called it a faithful return to the character's original 1938 immigrant roots. Others called it exactly the kind of change Cain warned about. Both camps have been arguing about it since, and neither has come close to convincing the other.

James Gunn attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Superman" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on July 7, 2025. Getty Images

5. The squirrel Warner Bros. almost cut

Not every Gunn controversy is serious. During Superman's edit, a scene of the hero saving a squirrel mid-battle reportedly caused genuine internal arguments, with some test audiences questioning why it was there at all. Gunn insisted on keeping it in. It's a small story, but it's a useful reminder that plenty of what gets called "controversial" in entertainment coverage is really just a creative disagreement that leaked.

6. The line Guy Gardner almost didn't get to say

A tighter internal fight nearly cut one of Superman's biggest laugh lines, when Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner was originally written with a much cruder insult aimed at Superman than what made the final cut. Gunn has since confirmed the joke was toned down specifically because of how the studio felt about the original wording, a small but telling look at how much gets negotiated behind a single line of dialogue.

7. The Deadline feud that showed a different side of Gunn

When Deadline reported that four actors had tested for a key role in his Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, Gunn didn't just deny it quietly. He went public and called the report inaccurate, dismissing it as "shoddy" reporting and disputing the details point by point. Supporters saw a boss defending his production from bad information. Critics saw an executive who's a little too comfortable picking public fights with the press covering his own studio.

8. Supergirl's box office, and the question fans can't agree on

This is the one that actually threatens the job. Following Supergirl's disappointing box office performance in 2026, reports suggested Gunn's future at DC Studios could be decided within months, with his own creative choices under scrutiny as the person who positioned himself as the studio's guarantor of quality. Superman performed well enough in 2025 to buy him goodwill; Supergirl spent a good chunk of it.

Craig Gillespie, Peter Safran, Milly Alcock and James Gunn attend the SUPERGIRL World Premiere on June 22, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures

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Ranbir Kapoor's 'Ramayana' gets an Australian advisory not recommended for under-15s

The advisory rating is for "moderate violence"

Highlights

What the Australian advisory means

Certification comes ahead of trailer release

Cast and release schedule

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