Recently, it was revealed that Brian Taylor was hired by Millennium Media to work on yet another reboot of “Hellboy.” Yes, it’s only less than three years since the last reboot. And no, the 2019 reboot didn’t do well at all with critics or fans. But here we are, with yet another reboot. And according to the filmmaker behind the new version, this reboot is going to follow a very specific tone and style which sets it apart from the previous iterations of the character on the big screen.
Speaking to Collider, Brian Taylor, who most recently worked on the film “Mom and Dad” and is also the co-director of the ‘Crank‘ films, talked about his inspiration for the new “Hellboy” film that he is set to begin work on in a couple of months. (Yes, filming is beginning in April, which seems very fast, but ok.) The filmmaker explained how he is inspired by the comics, specifically a story called “The Crooked Man,” for his new take on “Hellboy.” And this is what’s going to set him apart from what Guillermo del Toro did with his two “Hellboy” films in the ‘00s and what was done in the 2019 reboot.
“So first of all, I love the character of Hellboy and my favorite run of the character is this particular era,” said Taylor about “The Crooked Man.” “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 described his version of “Hellboy” as an “R-rated folk horror movie” that follows “The Crooked Man” story. For those not familiar with the comics, the story follows Hellboy as he travels through the Appalachian mountains in 1958, as he encounters a young man who has a history with witches and witchcraft. And Taylor said that his take on the character is actually more closely aligned to the original comics than what Mignola wrote in his first draft of the script.
“We started with a draft by Mike and Chris [Golden]. Funny enough, a lot of what I’m doing is trying to bring it even closer to the original comic book than what they did,” he said. “A comic book will never directly translate to the screen, but I will tell you that my intent in the movie is to really honor and bring to life the original comics.”
Obviously, if you’re a fan of “Hellboy,” both the comics and the previous films, the big question on your mind is who is going to play the title character. Well, it’s not going to be Ron Perlman or David Harbour, that’s for sure. Taylor said the production is aiming to find a younger actor to take the role.
“But we’ve got some amazing actors who are in the mix and the goal is to break out a younger version of Hellboy,” he said.
With filming expected to begin in April, it’s likely we’ll see this new “Hellboy” film in early 2024. Perhaps the third time is the charm? We shall see.
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