Brian Taylor will direct Hellboy: The Crooked Man for Millenium Media, and the reboot starts production next month in Bulgaria. In the latest update, casting for the production is already in the final phase.
With a loyal fanbase that’s stemmed from the comics, Hellboy has come a long way in the live-action adaptation movies. 2004 and 2008 Hellboy feature films were some of the best comic book movies ever made.
The 2019 movie only just broke even at the worldwide box office. However, collectively, the franchise managed to make $314M from a budget of $192.5M at the box office.
Hellboy Reboot Entitled The Crooked Man
READ MORE: New Live-Action Hellboy Movie In The Works
Deadline reports the confirmation and additional details on Discussing Films’ cover of the movie in development. The movie’s title is Hellboy: The Crooked Man, and this title is directly lifting a title from a three-part comic book released in July to September 2008.
While the Millenium Media film is being reported as a reboot, the story of The Crooked Man tells about a standalone mission or endeavour of the eponymous character. The series did not delve into his origins but immediately featured him facing supernatural opponents and magical beings. The world is already established in the same title comic book series.
To the greater appreciation of the fans, the character creator, Mike Mignola himself, wrote the script together with his collaborator Chris Golden. The movie in development aims to expand the world in hopes to re-establish the franchise for future projects.
The upcoming movie will take place in rural Appalachia during the 1950s, as described in the source comics. Hellboy encounters a town of witches and faces a demon from his past. A traveller named Tom Ferrell and a young witch named Cora Fisher help him in the story.
With the hope of rejuvenating the franchise, Millennium Media’s President Jeffrey Greenstein stated:
The Crooked Man is a departure from all previous Hellboy films where Mike Mignola and the creator of the comics will finally shepherd an authentic version of his stories and characters in film form.
Hellboy Reboot Confirmed By Millenium Media
Credit: Lionsgate
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Having Mignola on board for the project is already a good sign for the fans of the comics. A good number of those who saw the previous movies note the differences that the film presented the character to that of the original in the comics. Aside from appearance, the character apparently has a different personality as well, or at least in the manner of his speech.
Greenstein continues that the movie in development has the mission to captivate new audiences, saying:
This is the first in the series of films that will captivate audiences in familiar (and new) ways. Brian Taylor is an expert across the board, and I couldn’t think of a better person to bring this story to life to show our audience this different and original Hellboy slate of films.
Brian Taylor won the Best Director Award at the 2017 Molins Festival for his work on Mom And Dad. The movie was also nominated for Best Film. It is a comedy, horror, thriller about a teenage girl and her younger brother who must survive a wild 24 hours of mass hysteria. The circumstance turns parents violently towards their children.
With just the movie Mom And Dad alone, Taylor is tailor-fit for a Hellboy feature.
If some are worried whether Taylor can adapt a comic book, he’s done it before with a series called Happy! It even gained positive reviews from critics and audiences. The comic was written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Darick Robertson.
Many fans are rooting for the horror, ‘love-crafty’ vibe of Hellboy mixed with some dark humour. Mignola already has the script in the bag. It’s Taylor’s part to bring that into a successful live-action adaptation.
As development is already approaching the filming stage, the official announcement of the cast should be expected sooner rather than later. Ron Perlman took on the protagonist role in 2004 and 2008, while David Harbour portrayed him in the 2019 movie.
Did you expect there would be a Hellboy reboot? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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it will be futile to not have Perman as Hellboy. Have no lessons been learned? He deserves one more. Then you can waste your money!!!