(PAID POST)
Mike Mignola’s red half-demon antihero will now be in the hands of director Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent). The announcement may come as a shock to fans of the first two Hellboy movies, which were helmed by Academy Award-winning director Guillermo Del Toro. However, CinemaBlend reported that Del Toro gave his blessing, stating how it’s perfectly fine if the creator wants to reboot his character.
David Harbour, who everyone knows as chief Jim Hopper from Stranger Things, has been cast to play the lead role. Last year, the actor shared a sneak peek of himself as Hellboy via Twitter. He is unrecognizable with a ripped physique, and it’s a transformation he mentioned that has never happened in his life before. Looper iterated that Harbour never seriously trained, and that he grew up as a chubby kid. While he will still wear a bodysuit to make himself look monstrous, the actor bulked up in preparation for the physicality required in some of the scenes.
His version is a contrast from the original Hellboy played by Ron Perlman, who depicted a more cartoonish look. The actor seems to have made peace with the reboot as well. Perlman and Harbour even met for dinner with Patton Oswalt, and the former shared a photo on Instagram.
Cast alongside Harbour is Ian McShane, who plays Hellboy’s adoptive father, Professor Broom. McShane also has extensive experience in TV, who recently played Mr. Wednesday in American Gods and Brother Ray in the widely popular Game of Thrones. With both roles being father figures/mentors, McShane is clearly an appropriate fit. Hopefully, the actor won’t reveal any Hellboy spoilers, as McShane once received flak for divulging some details of Game of Thrones prior to the release of an episode in which he appeared. No photos have been revealed yet of the actor as Professor Broom, but it’s safe to assume he won’t be undergoing a major transformation like Harbour did.
The new movie will see the antihero squaring off against the medieval sorceress Nimue, who seeks to destroy humankind. It’s set to be a more gruesome version of Hellboy, with director Neil Marshall stating he wanted to “walk the razor’s edge between horror and comic book movie.” Hellboy began principal production last September 2017, and was filmed in the UK and Bulgaria. Filming wrapped up last December 2017, and it is scheduled to premiere on January 11, 2019, so expect to see trailers released later this year. In the meantime, fans can opt to binge-watch the two previous Hellboy films, which have already gained a cult following.
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Author Bio: Sasha Manning is a comic book geek and movie buff. One of her quirky personal traditions is binge-watching the Blade trilogy every Halloween.
