MILLENIUM Media is developing a new live-action 'Hellboy' film, despite the failure of the 2019 reboot, which starred Stranger Things' David Harbour in the starring role.
Brian Taylor, who co-directed the sequel to 'Ghost Rider' has been tapped as the writer and director. The current working title is 'Hellboy: The Crooked Man', but it is unknown if that will be the official title, and if the reboot will be based on the comic series of the same name.
The film is expected to be another reboot, so it is unlikely that either Ron Perlman or Harbour would reprise the key role. This new 'Hellboy' film is set to begin filming in Bulgaria this April, and casting is underway for an actor in their 20s to 30s to play the supernatural anti-hero.
Taylor has mostly worked on television as a showrunner on Syfy’s 'Happy!' and as a writer alongside comic legend Grant Morrison on Peacock’s 'Brave New World'. Morrison’s famed comic runs on Superman and Batman were cited as main inspirations for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU film slate for Warner Bros.
Hellboy creators Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden will be receiving story credits on the new Hellboy reboot, but it is unknown if they contributed to the screenplay or story. Golden wrote three canon Hellboy novels with Mignola’s approval. Golden also reportedly did some uncredited rewrites on the 2019 reboot.
'Hellboy: The Crooked Man' is also the title of a 3-issue miniseries that debuted in April 2011. It follows Hellboy in 1956, somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia, as he encounters Tom, a man who in his youth sold his soul to a backwoods demon known as the Crooked Man. Together, they travel back into the dark heart of the Appalachian Mountains to confront the demon and see if Tom’s soul can be saved.
The 2019 Hellboy reboot, to distinguish itself from the two Guillermo del Toro films, left out key B.P.R.D. characters such as Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, and Johann Kraus. The reboot did, however, include Ben Daimio, the werejaguar, Lobster Johnson, and Alice Monaghan.
Fans are hopeful that this new Hellboy film will feature more recognisable characters and monsters from the character’s lore. – The Vibes, February 19, 2023
