Hellboy creator Mike Mignola has high hopes for the upcoming reboot Hellboy: The Crooked Man, claiming it could be the best film adaptation yet. First created in 1993, the popular half-demon comic character has already been portrayed in three live-action films, initially by Ron Perlman in 2004 and 2008 and later by David Harbour in the 2019 reboot. Earlier this year it was announced that Millennium Media would be pushing forward with another fresh reboot of the property, this time with Deadpool 2 star Jack Kesy in the title role.
Most recently Mignola spoke with Variety about this latest reinvention of the Hellboy franchise. Revealing that he recently read a new draft of the script, he was pleased to discover that director Brian Taylor intends to approach Hellboy: The Crooked Man as a horror film. Suggesting that the new film will be a much simpler story, he also explained that the film is based on his favorite Hellboy comic, claiming it is “one of the best things I've ever written.” Check out his comments below:
His intention is to make a horror movie, so that'll be nice. That'll be interesting. I read the new draft of the screenplay yesterday, and yes, it is definitely R. It's the first Hellboy script that I read and I went, 'Oh, it's a horror movie,' which is what I wanted. Taylor does not have a reputation as a horror movie director. But, so far, we've had two horror movie directors make Hellboy movies and we've never gotten a horror movie.
For years, we've been saying, if you're going to make a Hellboy movie, make it small. And the perfect story to do that with is my personal favorite, 'The Crooked Man.' I think it's one of the best things I've ever written. It's beautifully illustrated by Richard Corben, and it's a solid story that doesn't involve a million different characters. Everybody actually agreed from the very beginning, 'Yes, we want to do that one.' Budget-wise, it's good because it's a lower budget kind of a story. It's not the Hellboy origin. It's not Hellboy saving the world. It's not huge. It's a subtle, dark, little folk horror story.
How Hellboy: The Crooked Man Will Differ From Previous Films
Despite Harbour’s own 2019 Hellboy reboot generating a good deal of buzz prior to its release, it ultimately failed to live up to audience expectations. Savaged by critics and performing poorly at the box office, the franchise’s last attempt at a reboot proved a bitter disappointment to viewers eager to see the character make his big screen return. With this kind of history, Taylor has a monumental task ahead of him in proving that the property is still a viable piece of IP.
As such, it would seem that the minds behind this latest reinvention are attempting a radically different approach to the source material than what has previously been explored on film. While both Perlman’s and Harbour’s respective heroes each found themselves battling potentially world-ending villains, Hellboy: The Crooked Man is described as a much more self-contained tale. Set in 1950s rural Appalachia, this latest film will see a younger Hellboy come up against a local devil who turns out to be a resurrected Civil War profiteer.
Leaning more heavily into the R-rated horror aspect of the source material, Hellboy: The Crooked Man will also prove to be a far more visceral and graphic adaptation than Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy films, which were both rated PG-13. At the moment, no release date has been set for the upcoming film, but production is slated to begin in Bulgaria in the coming weeks. While it remains to be seen if Hellboy: The Crooked Man can overcome the disappointments of the previous reboot, it will be interesting to see if Taylor’s new approach can reinvigorate the floundering franchise.
Source: Variety