Ready for some very unexpected but possibly welcome comic book movie news? Just several months afterdirector Guillermo Del Torodeclared that the long hoped forHellboy 3was officially dead, we now get word that an R-rated reboot of the franchise is in the works. This is not a rumor, mind you, as this news is coming directly fromHellboycreator Mike Mignola.
The news first broke courtesy of Mike Mignola’s Facebook page. The artist and writer declared that an R-rated reboot ofHellboyis currently in the works, withStranger Thingsstar David Harbour set to play the titular character. The project apparently already has a director as well in the form of Neil Marshall, who is best known for his horror flickThe Descent, as well as his work on HBO’sGame of Thrones. It was later announced that the movie has the working titleHellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen. To lend further credibility to this,The Hollywood Reporter, one of the most reliable news sources in the business, confirmed the news shortly after. Here is what Mike Mignola had to say about it.
“Okay, here’s some news. There is going to be another Hellboy movie. It’s going to be an R rated reboot directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent, Game Of Thrones) and starring David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Hellboy. More news to come soon.”
Millennium is reportedly in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin about theHellboy reboot. There are a lot of interesting angles to talk about here, but starting withDavid Harbour, it seems like he is a very hot name right now thanks to his role on Netflix’sStranger Things. For a couple of months, we were hearing that he was one of the frontrunners to land the role of Cable inDeadpool 2. That role ultimately went to Josh Brolin, presumably because he was who the studio wanted. So, either David Harbour was then quickly snatched up for thisHellboyreboot, or he signed on the dotted line for theHellboyreboot, which took him out of the running forDeadpool 2. Either way, he just landed a pretty big role in what will be a high-profile movie.
The other, perhaps sad angle for many, is that neither Guillermo Del Toro norRon Perlmanare going to be involved with thisHellboyreboot in any capacity. Del Toro directedHellboyandHellboy II: The Golden Army, both of which are beloved by many fans, but didn’t quite warrant the third installment that many were clamoring for up until very recently when the project was officially declared dead. It is possible that this newly revealed reboot is to blame forHellboy 3not being able to happen.
So, the good news is that we are finally getting anotherHellboymovie. The bad news is that it won’t be theHellboy 3that many of us wanted to see. From a business perspective, the decision makes sense. The firstHellboywas received well at the time it earned just shy of $100 million at the box office on a $66 million budget back in 2004.Hellboy II: The Golden Armyfared better in every, earning an 85 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and bringing in $160 million from an $85 million budget. Still, that isn’t great by modern standards and with R-rated comic book movies likeDeadpoolandLoganraking it in, this new version ofHellboycould be a big hit. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the project are made available.
