A reboot of the Hellboy franchise starring David Harbour was released in 2019, and the series is already getting rebooted once again, but this time it has the potential to be a vast improvement on the 2019 release. Celebrated writer/director Guillermo del Toro first attempted to bring the comic book character to the big screen, and while 2004's Hellboy and 2008's Hellboy II: The Golden Army were only modest box office successes, they're beloved cult classics. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the David Harbour-fronted reboot, which was ridiculed by critics and audiences, and it sits at just 17% on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the studio is developing another Hellboy reboot after the 2019 movie bombed, as it made just $55 million worldwide. The 2019 reboot was a result of the studio not wanting to develop Hellboy 3 with del Toro, as the auteur filmmaker wanted too high of a budget (via Film School Rejects). In hindsight, the studio would probably have reconsidered reteaming with del Toro following the 2019's Hellboy's failure. But the new Hellboy reboot could make up for the 2019 movie, and the few details that have been revealed hint at a way more carefully crafted and faithful approach to the antihero.
5 Hellboy: The Crooked Man Will Be A Horror Movie
Given the title of the series, it'd be safe to assume that the Hellboy franchise is a gothic, terrifying horror franchise. But that is far from the case with the movie adaptations. While del Toro's movies had a creative flare in terms of the creature designs, they were in no way horror movies. In fact, del Toro turned Hellboy into a sympathetic monster more than somebody that viewers should be frightened by. The 2019 movie had a couple of eerie moments, such as the creepy changeling, but it was far from a horror. However, the director of Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Brian Taylor, has confirmed that the reboot will be a folk horror movie.
This approach makes a great change from the blockbuster superhero movie approach the previous movies had, and the tone can make it standout in the comic book movie genre. There has never been a truly great horror movie based on a comic book, and Hellboy: The Crooked Man could set that precedent. Taylor explained Hellboy: The Crooked Man's horror approach and the studio's support, noting, "I pitched an R-rated folk horror movie and the team here at Millennium have been nothing but supportive... and they love horror." Approaching Hellboy as a folk horror movie is the best way to reboot the series in a fresh way while still being faithful to the source material.
4 Hellboy: The Crooked Man Will Take Advantage Of its R-Rating
Along with revealing the movie's folk horror elements, Taylor explained that the movie will also be R-rated. An R-rating obviously goes hand-in-hand with the horror genre, but superhero movies can be horror-inspired while still being rated PG-13, such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, Hellboy: The Crooked Man being confirmed as R-rated is such a relief, as Taylor won't have to worry about being restricted when it comes to the scares, the gore, and everything else that comes with folk horror. In a perfect world, Hellboy: The Crooked Man will have as much blood as The Descent and be as terrifying as The Blair Witch Project.
However, though Taylor can make that exact movie happen with an R-rating, it's easy to forget that 2019's Hellboy was R-rated too, which didn't do the movie many favors. Usually, studios don't like making R-rated movies because it limits the number of people who can pay to see them, but it wasn't the R-rating that kept audiences from watching the 2019 film. It was the way the R-rating wasn't utilized, as it hardly pushed the limits of what's possible with an R-rating, and as it was the first R-rated Hellboy movie, it was a missed opportunity. But now Hellboy: The Crooked Man can take full advantage of the rating.
3 Hellboy: The Crooked Man Is Based On A Classic Hellboy Comic Book
The new Hellboy reboot is based on The Crooked Man comic book, and it surprisingly marks the first time that a Hellboy movie has been totally based on a specific story. Del Toro's 2004's Hellboy was loosely based on Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, but he also applied a lot of elements of his own, and Hellboy: The Golden Army is based on a completely original concept. The 2019 reboot was a weird mix of many different Hellboy stories, including Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, and The Storm and the Fury, which explains the messy narrative that feels made up of vignettes.
Being based on one specific narrative means that the new Hellboy movie will likely be way more cohesive than 2019's Hellboy and even Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. But more excitingly, the movie is based on a classic and one of the most beloved Hellboy comic books. Not to be mistaken with The Conjuring's Crooked Man, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is set in Appalachia in the 1950s, and the Crooked Man is a Civil War profiteer who comes back from the dead. Millenium Media's president explained that the movie will finally be an "authentic version of his stories and characters in film form."
2 Hellboy’s Creator Co-Wrote The Hellboy: The Crooked Man Screenplay
It isn't often that a comic book creator is heavily involved in a movie adaptation of their work. The obvious exception is Frank Miller co-directing Sin City. However, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola co-wrote the Hellboy: The Crooked Man screenplay. The person who knows Hellboy better than anybody in the world working on the project is a promising sign, but when it comes to Mignola's work on movies, his batting average isn't great. Mignola worked on the story for Hellboy II: The Golden Circle, which was well-liked, but he also worked on the 2019's Hellboy story and screenplay. Nevertheless, Mignola still thinks the reboot will be the best Hellboy yet.
1 Hellboy: The Crooked Man Can Finally Be The Start Of A Long-Running Hellboy Series
Yet another Hellboy reboot entering production so shortly after the 2019 movie may be too soon, as the failure of the Harbour-starring Hellboy still lingers, and the love for the character may have diminished. However, the studio is clearly desperate to get a long-running Hellboy series off the ground. 2019's Hellboy teased the B.P.R.D., teeing up a sequel focusing on the superhero team. And del Toro was excited to bring Hellboy 3 to life over a decade beforehand too. However, Hellboy: The Crooked Man could finally be the start of a Hellboy series full of exciting, fun, and scary folk horror movies, even if it is too early.