For nearly a decade, Hellboy fans waited with bated breath to see if Guillermo del Toro would be able to get Hellboy III of the ground. Alas, that didn't end up happening, and instead, the Dark Horse Comics protagonist will return to silver screen soon in a reboot starring Stranger Things star David Harbour. it's already been made clear that this new Hellboy movie will differentiate itself from its predecessors by aiming for an R rating rather than stay in PG-13 territory, but according to Harbour, the reboot will also paint the protagonist in a more complex light. After noting that Hellboy is similar to his Stranger Things character, Chief Jim Hopper, and that the comic book character isn't a "clear hero," Harbour said the following:
The Guillermo Del Toro-helmed movies were so fantastic in their own way, but we wanted to do a different version where he goes through a lot more struggle, a lot more angst. That's the complexity I bring to it. In a sense, there are many similarities. It has the same complicated sensibility which is certainly what drew me to the project.
The Guillermo del Toro Hellboy movies certainly dished out a fair amount of struggle for Hellboy, primarily through his demonic heritage keeping him as a pariah, as well as through his complicated relationship with Liz Sherman. But for the reboot, it sounds like the creative team is doubling down on the putting Hellboy through the emotional ringer, which is in keeping with the darker, more gruesome vision that co-writer Andrew Cosby previously talked about. David Harbour mentioned later in his interview with Independent that he sees Hellboy's struggle, i.e. the character a demonic entity who wants to be heroic even though he's destined to bring out the end of the world, is very "Hamlet-esque," and the reboot will take greats steps to present those levels of complexity.
Simply titled Hellboy just like the 2004 movie starring Ron Perlman in the eponymous role, the upcoming reboot will see Hellboy and his allies battling a medieval witch who wants to destroy humanity. In addition to David Harbour, the main cast includes Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Milla Jovovich as Nimue the Blood Queen, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida and Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio. The Descent's Neil Marshall is directing the feature film, and principal photography has been going since last month.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on the Hellboy reboot as they come in. For all your David Harbour fans out there, you can see him reprise Chief Jim Hopper in Stranger Things Season 2 when it drops on Netflix on October 27. And don't forget to look through our 2017 premiere guide and 2018 premiere guide to find out what movies are being released over the next year.
