Zack Snyder Wants an Nc-17 Hit To Revive Sex Scenes in Hollywood

Film criticism has taken Zack Snyder in plenty of directions over the years, but few conversations around his work generate quite as much reaction as when he starts talking about what he sees missing from modern cinema entirely. Between promoting his divisive new film and fielding ongoing questions about his DC legacy, the director used a recent interview to zero in on a topic he clearly feels strongly about.

That topic centers on a noticeable shift he’s observed across the industry over the past decade or so, one he traces back to his own formative years as a moviegoer. Snyder has never been shy about incorporating sexuality and eroticism into his films, something that’s remained consistent whether he’s directing superhero deconstructions or war epics, making his frustration with the broader industry’s current direction feel especially personal.

Speaking with Variety while promoting his new film “The Last Photograph,” Snyder didn’t hold back on the subject. “This is one of my big things: Sex in movies is weirdly gone. I don’t understand it,” he said, later adding, “Eroticism in movies has somehow been stomped out, and I don’t understand it.”

Snyder framed his frustration around a generational shift in what mainstream films are willing to show, contrasting his own upbringing watching films like “Body Heat” and “9½ Weeks” with what he sees as a current landscape where sexuality has largely migrated to television instead. He pointed out that shows can freely explore sexual content while films, for whatever reason, seemingly can’t anymore, a dynamic he finds genuinely puzzling.

That observation led him toward a specific solution he believes could reverse the trend. Drawing a comparison to how R-rated films have shed much of their commercial stigma in recent years, citing box office successes like “The Odyssey” and “Obsession” as proof, Snyder argued the same thing needs to happen at an even more restrictive rating tier. “Now, we need an NC-17 movie that’s a hit,” he said.

He elaborated further on what he thinks such a breakthrough might look like: “If we had an erotic thriller that was NC-17 and it was in IMAX and everyone had to just go do it, maybe that would lift the stigma.” The comparison to a theatrical event, something audiences feel compelled to see collectively, echoed his earlier comments elsewhere in the same interview about valuing cinema specifically as a shared communal experience.

The first trailer for Zack Snyder’s ‘THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH’ has been released.

Premiering at the TIFF next month. https://t.co/3bpJKP6fQr

— MovieHub (@moviehubnow) August 31, 2026

Snyder’s comments align closely with recurring themes throughout his career, given how consistently his films have incorporated sexuality, fetishism, and deconstructed genre tropes. He referenced his approach to “Watchmen” directly in the same conversation, describing it as a film built around “neuroses, sexual impotence around their costumes, the fetishism, everything,” framing that kind of thematic exploration as central to how he approaches storytelling more broadly.

The NC-17 rating itself has carried a complicated reputation within Hollywood since replacing the X rating back in 1990, with films carrying that classification historically struggling to find wide theatrical distribution or major studio backing. Despite that stigma, a handful of NC-17 releases over the decades, including films like “Blonde” and “Shame,” have still managed to earn critical acclaim and even award recognition despite the commercial challenges tied to the rating.

Whether Snyder’s proposed solution, a big-budget, IMAX-friendly erotic thriller carrying the NC-17 label, could realistically materialize given the industry’s current risk-averse climate remains an open question. Still, his willingness to publicly advocate for a genuine shift in how studios approach on-screen sexuality adds an interesting wrinkle to an ongoing conversation about what mainstream cinema is and isn’t currently willing to show audiences.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!