Hellboy: Rise Of The Blood Queen - 8 Things It Must Do Differently From Del Toro's Films

2. Really Push For An 'R' Rating

Hellboy Mignola Dark Horse
Dark Horse

It might be hard to notice, but R-ratings are kind of the 'in' thing right now. Ever since Deadpool unleashed the floodgates for R-rated comic book success back in 2016, everyone's been at it, with Logan releasing this year to momentous critical acclaim and with Sony attempting to take the R-route with Venom, slated for a release next year.

It may just be a trend, but when a character really benefits from an R-rating then producers should do everything they can to ensure that vision is met. Hellboy, despite not being one of the most violent antiheroes out there, is one such character. Any adaptation of the license should, ideally, immerse itself in horror and suspense - many of the book's more horrific elements stem from that atmosphere.

Marshall seems pretty confident that his vision will necessitate an R-rating, however, as does Harbour, which can only be good news for Hellboy fans eager to see something different on the big screen.

Speaking to Mick Garris (and relayed by Entertainment Weekly), Marshall said:

“It’s like, okay, so now we can just make the movie we want to make. It’s not like I’m going to force it to be R-rated, but if it happens to come out that way, just because of my own sensibilities, then fine. And nobody’s going to stop us. So, that’s the main [difference]. And I’m sure, obviously, the success of things like Deadpool and Logan have not hurt that cause. But, also, when you go back the original material, it is kind of bloody, so I’m going to embrace that.”

The creative process behind Rise of the Blood Queen certainly sounds authentic, what with Mike Mignola co-writing the script and all. Combine that with Marshall's commitment to using practical effects, and this new film certainly sounds like it's moving in the right direction.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.