Sony's upcoming "Spider-Man" spinoff, "Venom," looks pretty dark, but apparently it's not going to lean into that vibe too far: The flick is reportedly no longer aiming for an R rating.

That's according to Variety, which reports that an R -- which was to have been a first in the Marvel-Sony partnership -- is "unlikely" at this point for "Venom," which will instead "push the very limits of PG-13 without crossing over into a higher rating." And you can thank your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man for that.

Per Variety, Sony executives are worried about an R rating restricting future crossover potential into the world of Peter Parker and co., who have been part of the MCU for several films now. "Venom," starring Tom Hardy as the titular villain, is currently totally separate from those heroes, and was originally aiming to play up the villain's horror elements before eventually striking a compromise to also play up the some of the lighter elements of the gritty character.

"The feeling is [the lower rating] will give the studio greater leeway for future installments that will feature Spider-Man," Variety reports. " ... Any 'Spider-Man' movie will carry a PG-13 rating because the wall-crawler is more family friendly, and if 'Venom' is too dark and gory, it might preclude other film match-ups, not just with Peter Parker’s alter-ego, but also with other members of the extended Marvel Cinematic Universe."

While that's certainly disappointing from a creative standpoint, it does make the most financial sense for Sony. We'll just have to see if fans are understanding about the compromise.

"Venom" is due in theaters on October 5.

[via: Variety]