Is it safe to say the R-rated action movie is back? We’ve gone through a period where studios seemed to avoid big budget action flicks like the plague. After all, you can’t expect little Timmy to go to the theater if he ain’t 17 — and if you know Hollywood, they tend to go for as wide an audience as possible for their big budget fare. In theory, if you limit who could go to the theaters, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Nowadays, however, with the success of movies like Deadpool and John Wick, studios seem to be wising up to the fact that R-rated movies can indeed be successful. Even the bigger budget ones (though to be fair, Deadpool and John Wick don’t exactly qualify as big budget movies). 

We now seem to be approaching an era where the movies that should be rated R are rated R. And the best part of it is that it’s not simply a matter of filmmakers going for needless gore. As Logan director James Mangold put it in an upcoming interview with Edward Douglas (coming soon), it’s not a matter of going violent for violence’s sake, but it’s important to go violent when it’s fitting. If you have a concept like Predator that calls for violence, then audiences want to see the natural extension of that concept, which is bound to include violence and gore.

Well, if you were ever worried about Shane Black’s upcoming Predator film not being R-rated, then you put your worries to bed, because in a recent series of tweets, Black has done a few things. 

First, he confirmed that today marks day one of filming for The Predator. Second, he confirmed that The Predator will indeed hold an R rating.

Finally, Black shared a cast photo, showing who will be geared up and ready to go against everyone’s favorite predatory alien. We have to say, the crew looks solid. The photo features leading cast members Trevante Rhodes, Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown and Jacob Tremblay. Up front on one knee is none other than Black himself. We gotta say, they all look pretty awesome.

What do you think of this first cast photo? Are you excited to see another R-rated chapter of The Predator? Let us know your thoughts down below!

The Predator hits theaters on February 9, 2018.

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SOURCE: Shane Black (via Twitter [1], [2], [3])