Ready for the hottest take of 2019? The “Hellboy” reboot starring David Harbour was a disaster. I know, I know, that’s controversial considering its stellar reviews and massive box office haul. Wait, who am I kidding? That film was a dumpster fire in April, earning a worldwide gross of $22 million and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 17%. But Harbour is here to drop some knowledge on the fans — those are the type of numbers that probably won’t lead to a sequel.
Speaking to Comicbook.com, promoting his upcoming return on “Stranger Things” (you know, the show that people actually love him in), the “Hellboy” actor gave some grim predictions. Somehow, someway, it doesn’t appear that Lionsgate is going to move forward with a sequel to this year’s reboot.
“I don’t think there’ll be much of a light,” Harbour said. “There’s a lot of people who reach out to me who really loved it and really enjoyed the new take, and were just happy to see him back on the screen, but I know in the culture at large, I don’t think it was very well received.”
He added, “I don’t think it made a lot of money. I don’t really keep up with those things too much to be honest, but I don’t think the perception was that it was a hit, and so in that way, I don’t know that the risk is worth it. I think the idea is to move on. The producers spoke to me just saying ‘Great job,’ they really liked what I did, but I haven’t heard anything about a sequel, and I’m not hanging my hat on anything like that.”
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Yes, it’s easy to kick “Hellboy” while its down. The film wasn’t good. The reviews and box office reflected that. And there were even reports of strife on the set, with Harbour being at the center of some of that. However, as a fan of the source material, it is sad that “Hellboy” is likely done for good. Guillermo del Toro did pretty well with his first two films, although they’re not the most comic book-accurate takes in the world. And it would appear that everyone’s heart was in the right place on this reboot. But sometimes, shit happens. And in the case of “Hellboy,” it was a shitstorm.
That doesn’t change the fact that there are volumes of “Hellboy” comics that are well worth your time, if you want to read about the further adventures of the character. So, why not give those a try?