I’ve had reservations regading the Hellboy reboot ever since its announcement a few months back. Not only was I unhappy with the recent rise of reboot culture, I also believed Ron Perlman’s interpretation of the Big Red is every bit as irreplaceable as Christopher Reeves’ Superman. Thankfully, the first and most important sign that this iteration of the demon investigator might have some legs is the emphasis the cast and filmmakers are placing on distancing themselves from Guillermo Del Toro’s decidedly machismo run, a run I’m particularly endeared to. Stanger Thing’s star David Harbor has his work cut out for him and he’s ready to take on the challenge.
Harbor sat down with The Independent to expound on the fundamental differences between his vision of the character compared to Perlman’s. Harbor feels the comic book hero to be inherently Shakespearian, relating Hellboy’s duality and daddy issues to Hamlet specifically.
“On a surface level, he’s an adopted kid from hell. He was meant to bring about the apocalypse. Yet he just wants to be a good guy and fight evil,” Harbor said. “But he has this destiny. That struggle is very Hamlet-esque, even having tones of Coriolanus, where you have this guy who cannot understand his own true nature. Those levels of complexity, if we can bring that to this movie, which we’re trying to do, I think will be really rich.”
Harbor intends to apply his passion for outcasts, psychology and “human beings” to interpreting the role. He sees a kindred spirit in Red and he can relate. Harbor hastened to clarify that doesn't mean the film will be devoid of humour or “silly” comic booky moments, but it sounds as though the playful tone engrained in the original two films will be largely absent in Neil Marshall's take. I presume the character himself will feel less like the grunt action star Perlman fostered and more like a tragic, conflicted one, which is much more appropriate for the film’s reported hard R rating.
Harbor’s enthusiasm alone does well to further avail my anticipation for the film, saying nothing of the recent additions of Sophie Okonedo, Brian Gleeson and Alistair Petrie to the already star studded cast.
The film is yet to have an official release date
