Hellboy creator Mike Mignola explains why he felt it wouldn't have been ideal for Guillermo del Toro's scrapped Hellboy 3 movie to be adapted into a comic book. The Hellboy films by Guillermo del Toro do not fit into the typical superhero mold. The title character is a demonic monster who fights on the side of justice against paranormal and occult threats, like Wolverine meets The X-Files. Though the character was originally created back in 1994, it was the 2004 movie that truly turned Hellboy into a household name.

While del Toro's two Hellboy movies were critical darlings that proved to be reasonably successful at the box office (earning a combined $260 worldwide), they didn't quite reach the blockbuster ambitions for which the film studios were surely hoping. Star Ron Perlman and director del Toro had hoped to return to the franchise with a third Hellboy movie, but those hopes were ultimately dashed with the development of the 2019 reboot.

Related: Screen Rant's Hellboy Review

Mike Mignola had co-written drafts of the Hellboy 3 script, and went on to consult with the reboot once it was decided to take the franchise in a new direction. Screen Rant spoke to Hellboy creator Mignola about his work on all the Hellboy movies, including the scrapped del Toro sequel, which was ultimately retooled into the Hellboy reboot. With del Toro's film franchise rebooted out of the cinemas, perhaps there's hope the Perlman iteration of the character could get a proper swansong in the form of a comic book. Many cancelled franchises get additional stories via novels or comic books, such as Smallville, Serenity, and The X-Files (before the comics were made non-canon once the series was brought back for two additional seasons on the Fox network). Alas, this was not to be for Hellboy, as Mignola explains:

Hellboy - Ron Perlman vs. David Harbour

"I think del Toro mentioned it to me once, and I said no. I think, let the comics be the comics. Comics are confusing enough for people. Let's not have two different versions of the Hellboy comic out there. My vote would be (to say) no."

Even if fans may clamor for a proper conclusion to the Perlman/del Toro saga, Mignola has a point. Comics can get overly complicated, with numerous continuities running side by side until the whole thing has to explode with an event like Crisis on Infinite Earths. That type of storytelling doesn't appeal to Mignola, who would rather have the comics maintain their own continuity, separate from the films.

That being said, there were a pair of straight-to-DVD animated films set in the universe of the del Toro films, which featured much of the cast from the movies reprising their roles. Perhaps such an avenue could be the ultimate fate of Hellboy III. Then again, considering how poorly the Hellboy reboot performed at the box office, maybe the series will be un-rebooted, and Hellboy III might actually have a chance at being made, after all! It's extremely unlikely, but stranger things have happened in Hollywood.

More: Screen Rant's Interview With Mike Mignola