All You Need to Know About The Reboot & Our Shot at Finding The Perfect Hellboy!

By Bob Garlen

In a surprising turn of events, Millennium Films has revealed they’re producing a reboot of Mike Mignola’s famed comic book universe. The film is based on a standalone story in the comic known as “The Crooked Man”. The three-issue story was written by Mignola but had art done by Richard Corben, replacing Mignola and artist Duncan Fegredo for the three issues. The story takes place in the Appalachian Mountains during the 1950’s. The comic centers on Hellboy protecting a man known as Tom Ferrell from a deal he made with the demonic miser Jeremiah Watkins, who goes by the name The Crooked Man.

The film’s story seems to slightly deviate from the comic, widening the influence of the Crooked Man. The released synopsis states “It follows Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent as they get stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. They discover a small community haunted by witches, led by the Crooked Man.”

The new film’s script has been penned by comic creator Mike Mignola and author Christopher Gold, who has written several original Hellboy novels. The film is set to be directed by Brian Taylor, director of Nicolas Cage’s latest film Mom and Dad, as well as adapting Happy! starring Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt.

The film is in the advanced stages of pre-production, with filming expected to take place in Bulgaria starting in April, with cast in late-stage negotiations for the film. It is expected that this new film will launch a series of new Hellboy movies and a Hellboy Cinematic Universe.

Speaking about the new film with Collider, director Brian Taylor said, “So first of all, I love the character of Hellboy and my favorite run of the character is this particular era. The GDT movies were massive scale space operas and just pure del Toro through and through. But some of the comics Mike (Mignola) was doing at the time had a very different feeling. More lean and mean, creepy folk horror. A younger Hellboy, wandering the dark corners of the world… Paranormal investigator, night stalker… The Crooked Man in particular is just such an iconic book—written by Mike, drawn by Richard Corben, another legend. Set in the late 50s. For me it’s my favorite version of the character. So the appeal of this one to me is to go back to that and do a real reset, and really give us that version of Hellboy, which I just don’t think we’ve seen yet.”

Taylor offered more on the location and his desire to give the film a R-Rating based on the tone alone, without overly exaggerating action. Taylor specified his desires when it comes to the rating of the film “We’ve definitely had a discussion of, you know, it doesn’t really serve anybody to make something R for R’s sake. To say it has to be R so we have to add A, B and C. But this material, this original material is dark and scary and violent and adult. So in order to really embrace that, we just don’t wanna have any handcuffs on.”

One surprising decision was the film in Bulgaria, as opposed to the real Appalachian Mountains, Taylor had this to say about the shooting location “We’ve been doing a lot of location scouting out here and the goal is to recreate 1950s rural Appalachia, and the locations that we’re finding, I think would make fans of the original comic really excited. Because some of these places just seem to have sprung straight from the pages. There’s a lot of haunted woods in Bulgaria!”

Taylor offered no updates on who he’s looking at for Hellboy, but it is clear he is certainly reaching for an actor who can bring more of the comic book character to life than previous adaptations. He has suggested the three leads are close to being signed.

While we wait for more news, anxiously awaiting to see who will inherit the mantle of Hellboy from Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy) who’s aged out of the role and David Harbour (Stranger Things) who doesn’t seem to carry any interest in returning to the role, we’re going to look at a few different candidates who could fill the right hand of doom.

For those who aren’t familiar, Hellboy is an agent for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.) – at the time of this story, only about 15 but has already grown to the size and maturity of a 40-year-old man. He was originally born in Hell in 1617 but arrived on earth roughly the age of a toddler in 1944. He smokes, drinks, and investigates various cases solo. The story takes place a year before his first notable encounter with the fairies after kidnapping a baby in attempt to pass on their magic in the famous short story The Corpse. Hellboy stands as roughly 6’11” and is often more brooding than joking. When he does comment his sense of humor is often dry and nonchalant. Despite being a Cambion (Half-Demon, Half-Human), Hellboy has been given honorary Human status by the United Nations.

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Jason Momoa

Height: 6’4”, Born: August 1st, 1979 – Notable Works: Aquaman, Dune: Part One, See

A pie-in-the-sky choice, Momoa is a certified star. He led the billion-dollar grossing Aquaman, and is returning for the sequel slated for a release this year. When it comes to Momoa, what sells him as Hellboy is the person he is off camera. He’s got the size and the voice to carry the role, but he also has that very down-to-earth attitude. Hellboy is a character who enjoys a beer at the end of the day and Momoa certainly comes off with that same energy. No doubt his star power would certainly cause a lot of people to be interested, Momoa has done lower budget films, and this isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. As an actor he can handle humor and action, as a person he has a personality that could easily fit the character. All in all, he would be the most bankable choice for the role and certainly one worth seeing take the mantle.

Ryan Hurst

Height: 6’6”, Born: June 19th, 1976 – Notable Works: Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, God of War: Ragnarok

Ryan is a great actor. He’s known more for his tv work than film, but he’s got a great filmography with war films Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers. He’s best known for his role as Opie in Sons of Anarchy, and more recently as Thor in the latest God of War. What he has is the size and presence for the role. He’s got the talent to play the role and to give it that natural maturity the character has. He’s done some comedic work and with his voice he can deliver the character’s dry wit and self-defeated presence. He would be someone who could pull that character from panels to film.

Kevin Durand

Height: 6’6”, Born: Jan. 14th, 1974 – Notable Works: Walking Tall, The Strain, Locke & Key

An actor who you may not know, but you’ve definitely seen. He’s done a number of different cult classics, a couple blockbuster films, and a few great television shows. If you’ve seen his work in The Strain, you know why he works for Hellboy. He’s got that size, dry-comedic wit, and the everyman presence. His work as Vasiliy Fet really showed how well he can lead a project and play a role like Hellboy. He’s no doubt the perfect character actor to take the role.

Winston Duke

Height: 6’5”, Born: Nov. 15th, 1986 – Notable Works: Black Panther, Us, Spenser Confidential

Winston is a strong actor who hasn’t really had that big leading role yet. He’s got some talent and really needs something that can push him as both lead and in terms of what he can do. I think Hellboy is a very subtle role for him and a role that can bring out something audiences haven’t seen in a character like M’Baku in Black Panther or from his role as Hawk in Spenser Confidential. I think given the role, he could deliver a Hellboy from the pages and show us something unique from himself as an actor.

Jared Padalecki

Height: 6’5”, Born: Jul. 19th, 1982 – Notable Works: Supernatural, Friday the 13th, Walker

If you’ve seen Supernatural then you’re well acquainted with Jared as an actor. He’s known for playing a serious character steeped into the supernatural. He’s enough of a name that it would grab attention, but not so much that he distracts everyone. He’s got the size and the talent for it, and he could grab the material and bring the kind of Hellboy that can still feel young while being mature. Given that he’s played Sam Winchester for 15 years there’s going to be comparisons, but I think he works well enough for the role because of that. This is certainly a much more emotionally hardened character and seeing him enter that atmosphere as an actor would be interesting.

Joe Manganiello

Height: 6’5”, Born: Dec. 28th, 1976 – Notable Works: Magic Mike, True Blood, Moonhaven

He’s best known for his work on True Blood, where he played Alcide Herveaux. To his characters he’s brought determination, intimidation, strength, comedic timing, and kindness. He certainly has the character strength he can bring to the role as well as the sense of humor and everyman quality that makes Hellboy a standout character. Putting him in a role like Hellboy gives him an opportunity to see the spotlight and really play a role that allows him to have fun and stretch his talents. He would be a great actor to pick up the mantle.

Alan Ritchson

Height: 6’3”, Born: Nov. 28th, 1982 – Notable Works: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Titans, Reacher

He’s the lead of the critically and audience acclaimed adaptation of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher Novels. Alan is an actor who carries a presence of strength and determination. His best roles allow him to tap into the more confident and powerful elements of a character’s personality, but he’s also able to work with the character’s doubt and use that to give a brooding quality to his characters. He has the voice and the presence to really bring what he draws on from his best character and put that in Hellboy without betraying the material or making him feel like he’s not Hellboy. He’s got the size and presence that allows the audience to believe him as a Hellboy who’s stuck on a mission with someone he must look after.

Do you agree with this list? Do you have any favorites for the role or are you even looking forward to the reboot.