There’s a new Hellboy on the block. Summit Entertainment’s reboot of the comic book movie franchise promises to be different style-wise than Guillermo del Toro’s 2004 take, but we can still anticipate a similar mix of brawn and banter from the titular demon-spawn character.
Darker is the supposed direction of this Hellboy, though that doesn’t show so much in the first trailer. David Harbour’s version of the big, red, not-a-monster antihero is humorous, and the creature-filled action seems more fun than edgy. Billy Idol’s cover of “Mony Mony” keeps the tone light, too.
Watch that new trailer down below after reading everything we know about the movie so far:
Who is the new Hellboy?
David Harbour, best known now as Sheriff Hopper on Stranger Things, has taken over the role from Ron Perlman, who portrayed Hellboy in Guillermo del Toro’s movies.
How does he look in the role? Well, he certainly doesn’t look like Sheriff Hopper. Here’s the first look we got of Harbour as Hellboy in all his devilish glory back in the fall of 2017:
He actually kinda looks like Perlman’s version. There are little but notable differences, however, such as the longer hair and more robotic-looking “Right Hand of Doom.” The way he’s photographed gives him a darker tone as well, which is fitting since the reboot promises more of an edge.
Who else stars in the movie with Harbour?
Milla Jovovich is the villain this time around, playing Nimue the Blood Queen. Ian McShane is Hellboy’s adoptive father, Professor Bruttenholm (previously played by John Hurt). Lost and Hawaii 5-0‘s Daniel Dae Kim is Major Ben Daimio, a fellow member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who can turn into a jaguar. And American Honey breakout Sasha Lane is Alice Monaghan, another fellow B.P.R.D. member who was raised by fairies.
Who is taking over the property as director from del Toro?
Neil Marshall, who you may know from the horror movie The Descent and episodes of Game of Thrones, is directing the reboot, which is aiming for an R-rating, from a script by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola along with Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Aron Coleite.
What is the plot of this Hellboy?
The official synopsis is simply this: “Based on the acclaimed graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy, caught in a clash between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge.” Nimue is that sorceress, hailing from medieval times when she was Merlin’s consort. She’s resurrected in the modern day and her revenge is on those who did her in the first time around.
What do we know of that darker tone?
Early on, we heard from Marshall on his plans: “We’ve been granted permission to do it R-rated, which for me is just like taking the cuffs off… When you go back to the original material, it is kind of bloody, so I’m going to embrace that.” Even earlier, Cosby revealed: “This is a darker, more gruesome version… [Marshall] said from the very beginning that he wanted to walk a razor’s edge between horror and comic book movie, which was music to my ears.”
When does it come out?
The new Hellboy arrives in theaters on April 12, 2019.
Watch the first trailer:
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