There is a new Hellboy movie coming next year, but unlike the previous two, actor Ron Perlman isn't in it. David Harbour will instead play the titular character as the franchise reboots. So with his horns permanently severed, does that mean that Ron Perlman could one day play another superhero on the big screen? Not so fast, because Ron Perlman doesn't have any real interest in playing another superhero after Hellboy, as he explained:
Well, I'm not much of a comic book dude, so I don't know who's really out there. I didn't find Hellboy, Guillermo [del Toro] found Hellboy and Guillermo just introduced Hellboy to me and infused me with his boyish fanboy obsession with the character. That's what got me through that one. No, there's no comic book character that I have identified that I'm dying to play. Plus, I don't know if, at 68, I should even be educating the notion of superheroes anymore.
Comic book movie fans are constantly fan casting and imagining what different characters would look like onscreen and who would play them, but Ron Perlman isn't that guy. Since he's not a natural fan of comics, he doesn't have a huge list of characters in his head that he's dying to play. So the interest simply isn't there for him to pursue another superhero role.
Ron Perlman came to Hellboy in the first place because of director Guillermo del Toro, whom he had previously worked with on Cronos and Blade II. Guillermo sold him on the Hellboy character and his story to get him in the film, but that didn't suddenly turn Ron Perlman into a die-hard comic book fan.
The other pont that Ron Perlman brought up to Comicbook.com is his age. Although he doesn't seem it, Ron Perlman is 68 and thinks that at his age maybe he shouldn't be trying to play superheroes anymore. That could be because of the physicality of the roles or just a sober and honest assessment of the business reality that there aren't many superheroes that Hollywood is going to cast with a 68-year-old guy. It's kind of sad to think about, but at least he isn't pining for one last go as a superhero.
We also know that Ron Perlman really wanted Hellboy 3 to get made and was bummed that it didn't happen. So you could understand why he might not want to enter that realm again after the lack of closure the first time around.
So although he is Hellboy to fans and many would love to see him back in the superhero realm, Ron Perlman just isn't particularly interested. Now just because he isn't currently interested doesn't mean that a persuasive filmmaker with the right character couldn't convince him to play a superhero again.
There is a natural inclination among fans to think that once you're in the superhero realm you never really leave. Chris Evans, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Keaton, Ryan Reynolds and Ben Affleck are all testament to this, having played multiple comic book characters over the years and I think many would like to see Ron Perlman join their ranks.
The comic book movie genre is continuing to expand into lesser-known territory, and there are undoubtedly plenty of characters Ron Perlman could still play, even at his age if he wanted and the opportunity was there. He once offered up his services as Cable and was even rumored as Swamp Thing. Personally, I could totally see him as Lobo or a mutant in an MCU X-Men movie.
Although he may be done in the world of superheroes, Ron Perlman will still be a big screen presence for genre fans. The actor is currently filming the video game Monster Hunter. That movie is still probably a ways off, but for all the huge titles hitting theaters next year, check out our 2019 release schedule.
