Mike Mignola, creator of the iconic beastly superhero known as Hellboy, thanked writer and director of the 2004 film, Guillermo del Toro, for his efforts in getting the movie made. Nowadays, Guillermo Del Toro's name is more commonly associated with his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water, but this doesn't override the comic book nerd inside of him-- the nerd who fought for Mignola's Hellboy, his own favorite superhero, to finally have his own film.
Hellboy's story was developed by Del Toro and cinematographer Peter Briggs and based on Mignola's graphic novel, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction published by Dark Horse Comics. The film follows Hellboy, with Ron Perlman in the titular role, and his team at the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense fighting supernatural threats, including Czech actor Ladislav Beran's Kroenon. Along with Perlman and Beran, the film starred Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, Doug Jones and John Hurt. Hellboy was first conceived of by Mignola in 1993 and has since featured in many stories on all forms of media; but earning his own film was certainly not an easy fight.
Mignola took to Twitter to thank Del Toro "for fighting to get this thing made," adding that "it was not easy." His tweet came on the 17th anniversary of the first movie's release, even noting there are people alive today who "don't even remember a time when there was no Hellboy movie" and adding "that's crazy." Check out Mignola's full tweet, below:
This is not the first time the difficulty to get the first Hellboy movie made has come up. Previously, Del Toro has stated that the film could have been made in 1998, but multiple factors meant that studios kept rejecting the project. These reasons included the controversy of the title, which did lead to difficulties once the film premiered and some theaters were uncomfortable playing it, particularly around Easter. There was also dislike for the script and reservations regarding Perlman playing the role of Hellboy. Nevertheless, Del Toro persevered and Hellboy received good reviews and did well at the box office.
Del Toro went forward with his plan for a trilogy and released Hellboy II: The Golden Army in 2008, which also received excellent feedback. But as time passed, the prospect for a Hellboy 3 became increasingly unlikely. In 2017, Del Toro announced that a Hellboy 3 was not going to happen. A Hellboy remake has since been made in 2019 with Stranger Things' David Harbour in the titular role, but this film tanked at the box office and was not nearly as well-received.
Del Toro had a bigger role in the success of Hellboy and its sequel as writer and director, but his fighting for it to be made certainly demonstrated his passion for the projects. As such, it's unfortunate a Hellboy 3 has never and seemingly never will come to pass. Perhaps if Hellboy had in fact been made in 1998 as Del Toro hoped for, predating The Matrix (1999), X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002), he would have had enough time to complete his trilogy.
Source: Mike Mignola/Twitter