Ever since the announcement that Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, starring Stranger Things actor David Harbour, would be R-rated, fans have been buzzing. Now, the film’s director Neil Marshall, has shared his thoughts on taking Hellboy to a darker level. Naturally, he’s excited about the potential. Likely in part of the recent success of R-rated superhero movies, including Deadpool and Logan.

“We’ve been granted permission to do it R-rated, which for me is just like taking the cuffs off. 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,” Marshall said in an interview on the Post Mortem podcast.

The Hellboy comic, which debuted in 1993, was written and illustrated by Mike Mignola. It followed the misadventures of a demon summoned to Earth as a child, who grew up to fight the world’s supernatural threats. The series thrives on Lovecraftian, Satanic imagery, and plenty of violence. Under Guillermo del Toro, two movie adaptations of Hellboy have already been produced, both of which were rated PG-13. Despite the freedom the R-rating provides, Marshall plans on keeping the film as practical as possible, particularly in the effects department.

“It’s definitely going to be as practical as we can possibly make it. I love to do stuff in camera whenever I possibly can, and use CG as the amazing tool that it is, to enhance or expand upon the world, but not to use it to replace reality, when you can do it [for] real,” added Marshall.

Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen is slated to debut in theaters in 2018.