Hellboy to be Rebooted, with Neil Marshall Directing and David Harbour as Eponymous Superhero.

Neurotic Void Melody

Bound to escape
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Jul 15, 2013
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No Ron Pearlman or Guillermo del Toro for this one, due for release on January 11th 2019. No doubt a dismay for some of those hoping for a third film from the duo. Here's a first image of the new role;



Update: Lionsgate has announced that the new Hellboy will open on January 11, 2019. It currently has the weekend all to itself, but it should be noted that M. Night Shyamalan's Glass opens one week later. Our original article continues below.

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While fans have been grumbling about the new Hellboy reboot and how director Guillermo del Toro never got to finish his trilogy, let's be honest. We've all been at least a little bit curious about what an R-rated Hellboy movie directed by Neil Marshall and starring Stranger Things' David Harbour as the red-skinned paranormal investigator would look like.

Now, thanks to a first look image of Harbour in character, we know. It looks like Hellboy.

For better or worse, this Hellboy looks very similar to the incarnation played twice by Ron Perlman in 2004's Hellboy and 2008's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. His hair is longer, his body a little more battle-worn, and "the Right Hand of Doom" has a completely different texture, but I can imagine someone with only vague memories of the first two movies seeing this image and thinking it was the same actor.

In any case, David Harbour is completely unrecognizable under that make-up. Whether he's wearing elaborate (and convincing) body prosthetics like Perlman or somehow shed that dad bod he still had at Comic-Con this summer in record time is something you can debate in the comments! (Although it's the former, of course.)

As a fan of Mike Mignola's comics, I'm admittedly surprised that they once again went with a super-beefy take on the character. While Hellboy has a muscular build in the comics, he's often drawn as leaner and slumped - a less confident, more weary, somewhat blue-collar demon-hunting demon. Here, he has a more traditional comic book superhero build, albeit one brought to life by impressive make-up artists rather than a personal trainer on the Marvel payroll.

I'm also a fan of Hellboy's new utility belt, with its various pouches and occult objects. If the new movie follows the comics in any way, these will probably be discarded in short order, leading him to solve most of his problems with punching.

Harbour himself shared another image from the set, showing him wearing the character's trademark trench oat. If the new movie follows the comics in any way, this will probably be discarded in shorter order, leading him to solve most of his problems wearing only pants.

The Hellboy reboot is filming now under the direction of Marshall, whose credits include The Descent, Doomsday, and a few great Game of Thrones episodes. The supporting casting includes Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Hellboy's adoptive father, Milla Jovovich as Nimue, "The Blood Queen" and the movie's main villain, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan, one of Hellboy's allies with magical abilities, and possibly Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio, a grizzled soldier with odd supernatural abilities. No release date has been announced.
http://www.slashfilm.com/hellboy-reboot-first-look-reveals-stranger-things-star-david-harbour-as-big-red/

I am mildly curious as to what it may turn out like, regardless of enjoying the previous movies or Del Toro's bad luck with the box office. Any thoughts on the change of direction? Literally and figuratively.
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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Jul 18, 2009
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I never thought the Hellboy movies were very good anyway. The first one had its charm, but the second one was awful and an example of how Del Toro focusses more time on making cool looking monsters than on good storytelling.

We'll see how this one does. Good to atleast see the R-rated genre movie making a comeback.
 

Baffle

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Oct 22, 2016
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I think Habour is pretty good in the things I've seen him in, so that's a plus. Also, I like Hellboy for how not-serious it is.
 

Whitbane

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Mar 7, 2012
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Shame, nothing can replace the voice work of Perlman. Understandable though, as Ron is up there in age, and all this costume work takes a toll on the body.

Hope it's good. They should at least bring on Del Toro as a consultant.
 

Johnny Novgorod

Bebop Man
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Well, Harbour looks the part. He's got that jawline. And I've always liked him as a supporting actor. Wonder if he'll be a good lead.
 

DrownedAmmet

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Apr 13, 2015
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Huh, looks almost identical to Ron Perlman Hellboy

I don't remember much about the Hellboy movies, except there were Nazis maybe? Wonder if the reboot will feel fresh if it goes the same route
 

Tanis

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Aug 30, 2010
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I loved the first two, but mostly because of the visuals and...well...Ron Perlman, dude just has a 'presence'.

Still, nice to see the won't be using the rubber chest for this one.
 

Zhukov

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Dec 29, 2009
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I shall resist the temptation to automatically hate it due to it not being Del Toro's Hellboy.

Perlman, great as he is, has aged out of the role anyway.
 

Cycloptomese

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Ron Perlman and cool visuals is about all I really remember about the first ones, so no childhoods ruined here. Also, after watching David Harbour in Stranger Things, I'm eager to see anything that he does.
 

Scarytown_v1legacy

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For the most part it looks exactly like Ron Perlman's Hellboy but a tad more orange. I am sad that Perlman wasn't able to reprise the role. For a while there it looked like something might come together for a final film before everything fell through and the reboot happened. Maybe they can finish it out in some sort of animated movie.

With that being said, I'm curious how the reboot will turn out. I like David Harbour as the new Hellboy and Ian McShane is a worthy follow up to the great John Hurt. Still out on the director. Also hoping the casting controversy baggage won't weigh it down. Not sure why the film needs to be rated R either.

undeadsuitor said:
What about Abe tho

You can't have red without blue
No idea, but in the meantime you can have This-is-Totally-Not-Abe-Sapien in del Toro's new movie:
 

BreakfastMan

Scandinavian Jawbreaker
Jul 22, 2010
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As someone who is a huge fan of the comics and didn't like the Del Toro adaption... HELL YES. Hellboy is already looking great, and Neil Marshall is one of the best choices to direct a Hellboy movie that is actually faithful to the comics. Really looking forward to seeing more of this. :D
 

RedRockRun

sneaky sneaky
Jul 23, 2009
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As much as I like Ron Perlman and think he was perfect for the role, the movies did a piss poor job adapting the source material - not just in story but in tone. Anyone who has read the comics, especially Hellboy as opposed to BPRD, should be able to tell you that they are more reserved and mood oriented as opposed to being action fests. They feel more like detective stories.
 

BreakfastMan

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Jul 22, 2010
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RedRockRun said:
As much as I like Ron Perlman and think he was perfect for the role, the movies did a piss poor job adapting the source material - not just in story but in tone. Anyone who has read the comics, especially Hellboy as opposed to BPRD, should be able to tell you that they are more reserved and mood oriented as opposed to being action fests. They feel more like detective stories.
Hell, they didn't even really emulate BPRD that well. BPRD was action heavy, sure, but also gory as shit, frequently featured horrific body horror, and always had an air of apocalyptic doom hanging over everything (at least once the frog arc really got going).
 

RanD00M

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Given that Neil Marshall directed, wrote, and edited Dog Soldiers, a film that I more than enjoy, I could easily see him doing good work with the Hellboy IP.
 

Marter

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None of y'all have mentioned Doomsday.

Doomsday is awesome. So is Dog Soldiers. Hopefully this allows Marshall to do more movies.