The director of Mrs. Doubtfire confirmed the existence of an R-rated version of the beloved 1993 family film, but added that that version of the movie will likely never be released.
Earlier this week, a Twitter account that unearths movie facts noted how “there were PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 cuts of the film” due to actor Robin Williams’ penchant for improvising during the production. Soon after, social media was ablaze with demands to release the NC-17 cut of the film.
While there is no NC-17 version of the PG-13 film — as director Chris Columbus previously jokingly revealed — he told Entertainment Weekly Friday that there is an R-rated cut.
“The reality is that there was a deal between Robin and myself, which was, he’ll do one or two, three scripted takes. And then he would say, ‘Then let me play.’ And we would basically go on anywhere between 15 to 22 takes, I think 22 being the most I remember,” Columbus told EW.
“He would sometimes go into territory that wouldn’t be appropriate for a PG-13 movie, but certainly appropriate and hilariously funny for an R-rated film.”
However, unlike Zack Snyder’s Justice League, don’t expect a Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire to ever see release: Columbus said he would only release some of the material if a documentary of the 1993 film was produced. “I only know what’s in the movie at this point because it’s been a long time. But I do remember it was outrageously funny material,” Columbus said, adding that a documentary would be “the best approach” to the unseen material.