It’s been almost 20 years since the first live-action adaptation of the popular comic character Hellboy graced our screens and the fan-favorite character is back yet again with the announcement of Hellboy: The Crooked Man. The film, set to enter production next month in Bulgaria, will be written by the comic’s original creator Mike Mignola and Chris Golden with Brian Taylor, best known for directing Jason Statham action movie Crank, in the driver’s seat as director.
According to a synopsis for the film from Deadline, viewers can expect to see “Hellboy and a rookie BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Development) agent stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia”, “a small community haunted by witches” and a terrifyingly influential “local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy’s past: the Crooked Man.”
Though the original 2019 Hellboy reboot, starring David Harbour and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, was a commercial and critical failure (!), Jeffrey Greenstein, the president of Millennium Media, has revealed in a statement that the new film is an opportunity to deliver “an authentic version of [Michael] Mignola’s stories and characters in film form.”
It is uncertain who will be playing our eponymous antihero, though the casting process will likely begin with the start of production next month. There is equally no news as to when we will get to enjoy the film, but given its mid-2020 filming schedule, fans may not have to wait too long to see the newest incarnation of Hellboy.
This latest effort to bring the beloved character to life promises to fulfill the wildly imaginative colors and exciting thrills that make Hellboy so unique from its comic book contemporaries, so keep an eye out for any news that might be brewing about Hellboy: The Crooked Man! In the meantime, why not reacquaint yourself with Mike Mignola’s inspiration and its predecessors to get you in the Hellboy spirit before the new film’s time of release?
