‘Hellboy’ Reboot? ‘Stranger Things’ David Harbour To Play Big Red

Despite receiving acclaim from both fans of the property and critics, the Guillermo del Toro directed Hellboy films proved to be only minor box office successes for Revolution Studios and Universal Pictures.

This seemed to be the primary factor holding del Toro back from directing the long-awaited third installment until he finally took to Twitter back in February to definitively announce that it would never happen.

If you were like me, this news was neither shocking nor heartbreaking. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the Hellboy films for what they were. They’re fun little monster movies that masterfully showcase Ron Perlman's loutish charisma and feature some of the most inspired visuals Del Toro has offered to date.

However, more than seven years has passed since the last entry and the screenwriters kind of backed themselves into a corner in terms of new and exciting places to take the character in future films (I don’t know maybe you were genuinely thrilled to see the adventures of HellDad). If Red is going to continue to have a life on the big screen, then a reimagining is imperative. As it turns out, Millennium Studios agrees and are currently in negotiations with Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin for a reboot of the franchise.

The current working title is Hellboy: Rise of The Blood Queen. The script is yet to be written but will be penned by Neil Marshall, who will also serve as the director, Christopher Golden, Andrew Cosby, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Comics is producing.

Even though I think this is one of the rare instances of a property standing a lot to gain from a reboot, I’d be lying if I said it’s not going to be more than a little harrowing to see someone other than Ron Perlman don the makeup. As a longtime fan of the comic, Perlman, to a lesser degree to be sure, belongs in a league with the likes of Reeves and Mcguire as far as actors that became nearly synonymous with their iconic roles is concerned. Thankfully David Harbour, who is currently in talks to play the trench coat sporting demon, looks both different enough from Perlman and odd enough in his own right to keep me fairly optimistic.

So will Millennium's turn at adapting Hellboy see the hero at last rise from the ranks of mere cult idol? Maybe. This reboot has a lot going for it, not least of which being the post- Deadpool era, where execs finally realize R-rated films can make a shitton of cash if done right. Hellboy is a cigar smoking demon that kills demons – let’s make this thing as perverse as the motion picture production code will allow.

We’ll keep you posted as more details begin to unfold.