'Hellboy' Reboot Rated R For "Strong Bloody Violence And Gore Throughout, And Language"

Good news for people who have been waiting for a naughty Hellboy movie! The Hellboy reboot is officially rated R. Further distancing itself from Guillermo del Toro's wonderful and PG-13-rated adaptations, the new Hellboy from director Neil Marshall has earned itself an R-rating for lots of bloody violence and language. So maybe leave the kids at home.

Neil Marshall previously talked-up his Hellboy reboot by calling it "More violent and more bloody," and adding: "It was always a case of, 'When in doubt, go back to the source material.' Some of the stuff is pretty sick." On top of that, David Harbour, who takes over the role of the big red demonic superhero, also commented that the new film was going to be a "real monster movie that's dark and scary." It looks like Marshall and Harbour were indeed telling the truth, because the MPAA has officially slapped an R-rating on Hellboy for "strong bloody violence and gore throughout, and language."

Does this automatically mean the new Hellboy will be good? Absolutely not! There are plenty of terrible R-rated movies. But it is another sign that studios have learned a lesson from Logan and Deadpool. Namely, that R-rated superhero movies can still make serious money at the box office. For the last several years, the consensus was that superhero movies needed to be rated PG-13 to bring in a wider audience. But those days are over! (Except when it comes to Venom, I guess). However the new Hellboy turns out, though, it will definitely stand apart from del Toro's movies in terms of its "strong bloody violence and gore", so I suppose that's something.

I remain unsure about the Hellboy reboot. Neil Marshall has made some fine films in the past (specifically The Descent), and David Harbour is charming. But the footage released so far has been overwhelmingly lackluster. Or perhaps I'm being too harsh. Perhaps I'm simply longing for the beautiful, stylized worlds Guillermo del Toro came up with for his Hellboy movies.

Speaking of the del Toro movies, Doug Jones, an actor who has worked with del Toro frequently and played Abe Sapien in the first two Hellboy movies, recently told THR that he was offered a cameo role in the remake. Jones declined, however, due to commitments to Star Trek: Discovery:

"There was a chance that a cameo might have happened, but not as things progressed. Reboot means recasting, and I'm told this first reboot does not have anybody in it from the original film. I received an offer to do a cameo, but I was deeply immersed in Star Trek: Discovery when that offer came in, so I couldn't do it."

Hellboy, starring David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, and Daniel Dae Kim, opens April 12, 2019.