And so it begins! The Predator has officially started production. And to celebrate the occasion, director Shane Black has shared the first photo of the cast along with some good news for longtime fans. The movie will be R Rated. Yes, spines will bleed. The filmmaker shared this latest update on his personal Twitter. He says this.

Partial cast...Beautiful human beings, good people. Also, killers. Cameras roll today. Follow me on Twitter for updates. Wish us luck."

Included in the photo are headlining stars Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan Michael Key, and the very young Jacob Tremblay, who is going to be forced to watch spines bleed in some capacity. Don't believe us? Just look at what Shane Black had to say about the movie and it's R-rating.

"Monday... the hunt is on. And, just to be clear... PG-13 is for pussies. Spines bleed... a lot."

No plot details have been reveled at the this time. But rumors persist that this latest installment in the Predator series will take place against a Suburban backdrop. We've also heard that it deals with the militarization of the Predator, and that the alien hunters will all be CG instead of practical men in suits. We've also heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't have a substantial role, and only appears in the very last few shots of the movie, as he arrives to save the day. That last part apparently isn't happening though, according to Holbrook. He says this about Arnold making a big Predator comeback.

"I'm currently working on Predator. It's not a sequel; Shane Black has made something totally new, somehow keeping within the realm of Predator [while also being] absolutely new in terms of the story that we're talking about today, and rooted in something real. It's real fresh. I don't think you're going to see [Arnold] Schwarzenegger. It would kind of make it a gimmick. It's horror, science-fiction and a western."

It is interesting that it's being called 'not a sequel', yet Shane Black shares an image that includes a big four, indicating that this is the fourth movie in the franchise. Shane Black follows up the critically acclaimed 1970s noir comedy The Nice Guys with The Predator. And this is a world he's quite familiar with. Black actually starred in the first first Predator, released back in 1987. He played wisecracking Hawkins opposite Schwarzenegger in what has gone onto become a sci-fi classic. It doesn't sound like he'll put himself back in front of the camera. But he has assembled a fine cast as we can see in the first photo from set.

The Predator will be in theaters one year from now, arriving just before Valentine's Day to fill the slot currently occupied by John Wick at the local cinemaplex. In previous interviews, Shane Black has said this is going to be an epic tentpole movie and is being considered a blockbuster rejuvenation of the popular sci-fi franchise, not just some one-off sequel that won't add up to much. Fingers crossed, this has the potential to be the best Predator movie yet.

Predator Cast 2017