We are, at the time of writing, about one year out from Lionsgate’s long-anticipated Hellboy reboot, which is set to star David Harbour in the titular role.
The actor, who is perhaps best known for his endearing performance as Chief Jim Hopper in Netflix’s Stranger Things, took over the part from Ron Perlman. Following two stints as Mike Mignola’s cigar-chomping demon, along with years of false starts involving the fabled Hellboy 3, Perlman joined Guillermo del Toro in bidding farewell to the cult fantasy series.
It’s an admittedly anticlimactic end to such a gripping and at times deflating saga, and as you can imagine, the cast of the original films aren’t too happy about it. We’ve already heard from Perlman, who says he’s beginning to make peace with the whole thing, but now his co-star, Selma Blair, has opened up about it, saying she’s heartbroken over the reboot.
“God, you know, people are fans of Hellboy and also fans of Guillermo. So part of us, the ones that were so loyal to Guillermo, our hearts are broken that it didn’t work out with the greatest third installment ever written that I wish I could play more than anything in the world. But I truly hope that Mike Mignola has his vision out there for the darker Hellboy come to light, and I’m sure he will, and David Harbour is excellent and everyone involved, but my heart is broken.”
The actress’ comments here are perfectly understandable, and pretty much echo what both del Toro and Perlman have already said. That being that while they wish the new gang luck, they’re still pretty upset that they didn’t get to finish off their trilogy. And so are we.
Everyone involved in the original series did a tremendous job with their two efforts, with both Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army brimming over with imagination and eye-bogglingly great monster and production design. Admittedly, they stumbled a bit in the narrative department, but they really deserved to make more money than they did.
Let’s just hope director Neil Marshall, who’s in charge of the reboot, has been taking notes and delivers a worthy adaptation when his dark and gruesome take on Hellboy charges into theaters on January 11th, 2019.